We Put the Fun in Dysfunctional
by dendragon14
Summary: Slice of Life AU. No one and no family is perfect, but life is a struggle in itself. Harry tries to deal with his father's recent remarriage. Gil has it all but wants to throw it away for something he enjoys. Uma is having home problems but wants to deal with it alone. Mal is feeling lonely with Ben across seas. And Jay and Carlos try to bring light to a troubling issue at school.
1. Chapter 1: Days Like These

**Summary:** Slice of Life AU: Families are never perfect since they put the fun in dysfunctional. Everyone is struggling in their own way. Harry's father recently remarried and he isn't too fond of the blended family situation. Gil is on the football team, and Evie, the new head cheerleader, is his girlfriend, but he'd rather quit both of them. Uma is struggling to find a safe home situation, but doesn't want to alert her friends of the danger she could be in. Mal is feeling lonely with Ben spending a year abroad and with her former best friend being a cheer captain, she has no girl friends to turn to. And Jay and Carlos are having a shared crisis which leaves them in a powerful, but also powerless, situation.

 **A/N:** Sorry if some of the characters seem OCC, but otherwise they'd probably end up playing a different part in the story. There is a brief crossover with OUAT, since Emma and Henry are in it, but no one else, at the moment anyway. I have given the twins actual names, but will still refer to them primarily as Junior and Bronze. And I have also given Lefou the first name of Louis, and Gaston and his family the last name of LeGume, since I remember seeing that somewhere else.  
**If there is a warning before a chapter, please read, since it may be triggering to certain individuals.**

* * *

 **Chapter One:** Days Like These

As the water cascaded over him in rivulets, he closed his eyes, trying to force his thoughts to go elsewhere other than towards the dream he had had last night. It had been troubling him on and off for years, but it was always the same. The blur of colors and people, only himself and his mother in focus. A garbled sound of her talking to him before he turned away, only to find her gone when he looked back.  
He supposed it was a memory more than a dream, but the fact that it haunted his sleeping mind troubled him. It shouldn't, it had been years since his mother had abandoned the family, so why was his subconscious still so focused on that particular experience?

Harry thought that maybe it had to with his father's recent remarriage. It wasn't that his new stepmother was a witch or anything, she was fairly decent, but he didn't really want a new mother to begin with. Despite his mother voluntarily leaving the family, he couldn't find it in himself to hate the woman who had birthed him. His sisters, CJ and Harriet, were ecstatic to have another female in the house, and a new mother figure to share all their problems with. Because dads just don't get some girl problems. Harry however, was displeased by the sudden addition of a stepbrother with a very similar name-Henry- and that his own personal bedroom space was cut by half.

A loud banging on the door pulled Harry from his thoughts. Harry groaned internally and shut off the water, running his hand over his soaking hair. Stepping out of the shower, he grabbed the nearest bath towel, hastily wrapped it around his waist before he yanked open the door.  
The tired, irritated, baby blue eyes of his older sister, Harriet, glared at him.

"Are you finished jacking off in there?" Harriet demanded. I've been waiting fifteen minutes." She gestured to her face and her tangled mess of hair. You should know by now that I need more time-" Harry pushed past her, ignoring her angry words as he retreated to the quiet of his... now his and Henry s room. It hadn't even been a week since his father s wedding, and with him and his new wife, Emma, on their honeymoon for the next two weeks, the house was ruled by the offspring. And, sadly, being the eldest, Harriet was left in charge; the recent grant of authority had gone to her head and made her even more of an uptight bitch than usual.

After pulling on whatever was clean in his closet, Harry headed towards the kitchen, where he pulled together a quick breakfast of cereal and orange juice. Unfortunately, he'd failed to notice that his newfound stepbrother was in the kitchen as well. Always the eager beaver, Henry was up early, dressed, fed and waiting for Harriet-the only one who knew how to drive- before he went to school.

"Good morning," Henry said, glancing up from his bowl of cereal. He gestured to the chair next to him at the kitchen island. "Did you want to sit? I heard it s not good for you to eat standing up." Harry glared at Henry's stupid baby face over his bowl of Captain Crunch before leaving the kitchen altogether and headed towards the back porch.  
The morning air was cool and full of moisture from last night s light shower. The backyard lawn was wet with dew, which glistened slightly in the rays of the rising sun. The freshness of the air felt wonderful; the smells were cool and calming, the air was cool, but not cold. It was a great morning, other than the fact that he couldn't find solitude in his house anymore. But he supposed that being outside was t that bad, as long as there were mornings like these.

* * *

After ditching Harriet in the halls, Harry shoved his way through Auradon High's halls to get to his locker, which happend to be on the far end of the school, closest to the football field. During registration, he, Gil and Uma had made sure they all got lockers next to one another, since they rarely saw one another during the school day.

"I'm so bloody tired of this blended family shit," Harry grumbled, slamming the door to his locker. It was just before first bell and Gil had managed to be at his locker when Harry showed up. His shark of a girlfriend hadn't shown up yet to grab and drag him back into the sea of bodies that were pushing their way through the halls.  
"It can t be that bad", Gil said, being his usual optimistic self. "It hasn t been even a week yet. Don t you think tha you could-"  
"Give it a chance," Harry snapped, "Is that what ye were gonna say?" Gil nodded sheepishly, turning his gaze away.  
"Sorry I said anything." Now his friend sounded like a kicked puppy; Harry hated it when he managed to put a damper on Gil s happiness, it made him feel like a bad friend.  
Before he could reassure his friend that there was no harm done in voicing honest thoughts, Gil was tackle hugged from behind by a slender figure with dark blue hair. Evie Queene and Gil had started dating in their sophomore year, and Harry still had no idea why or how it had happened. Evie didn't seem like the type of girl that Gil would go for. Without much struggle, he allowed Evie to pull him away from Harry and the safety of the lockers.

"I'll see you at lunch, Harry," Gil said hurriedly before he was dragged away by the navy colored bobble head (cheerleader), and engulfed by the rest of the bobblehead gang. Even though the second bell was bound to ring soon, Harry hung around the lockers waiting to see if Uma would drop by. Normally, she was late on an everyday basis, but according to her, everyone else was just early.  
When she finally came sauntering down the halls, clad in a turquoise dress with black fish net leggings and a dark gold jacket, the hall was close to empty. Right on time as always. She acknowledged him with a nod of her head and motioned for him to move so she could get to her locker.

"Hey," he said, sliding over one spot. "How is my queen today?" Uma snorted as she tossed in her bike helmet and hung up her jacket on one of the hooks. She glanced at Harry, an eyebrow raised in humor.  
"So you re going to stick with that than, huh? I could always use that cute little name that Mal gave you," Harry replied sarcastically, smiling wickedly. "What was it again?" He pursed his lips and furrowed his brow in mock thought. Uma punched him on the shoulder, none too lightly either.  
"You better not," she said, her face serious. "Call me anything but that."

Their eyes met as Uma looked away from the contents of her locker, dark brown to sky blue. The intensity of her gaze was more powerful than words themselvse, she need not say anything. Harry truly believed that the eyes were the window to the soul, and Uma's eyes clearly displayed this. Instead of wearing her heart on her sleeve, or talking his ear off about her feelings, everything was conveyed in her dark, deep, beautiful irsises. As she reached to grab her books from her locker, her bracelets slid down, revealing a bruise on the inner side of Uma s right wrist. It was hard to notice at first glance among the bracelets and her smooth, cocoa colored skin, but it was clearly a fresh bruise, about the size of an avocado pit.

Uma smiled slightly, positioning her arms by her sides so the bangles could hide the injury, forgetting the books that she was going to need for class. Harry reached out for her hand, but was stopped as she placed a hand on his chest.  
Her facial expression and the sadness lurking in her eyes told him all. She didn't want him to worry, even though he was already worried for her. They'd been friends since grade one, and Harry was aware, to some extent, that Uma didn't have the greatest home life, but she never emphasized on what happened behind closed doors.  
The blaring of the second bell startled both of them, pulling them back into the world with everyone else. Slowly, Uma drew away from him, shrugging her backpack over one shoulder. The deep sadness he had seen in her eyes was gone now, hidden again in the deepest of places.  
"I'll see you later Harry."

* * *

 **A/N:** I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Just an FYI that the POV will jump around, not a lot I hope, but enough to get everyone's story. I hope there are not too many typos, I did proof read and edit but it was late at night. If you want, tell me what you think; reviews and constructive criticism are highly appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2: This Too Shall Pass

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Descendants or its characters. This also applies to chapter one, since I forgot about it in that one. And it will also apply to future chapters as well.

* * *

 **Chapter Two:** This Too Shall Pass

The noise of the school halls buzzed like flies in her ears. People seemed to blur as they walked and pushed by her, ignoring how she stood in the middle of the school lobby like a statue. Junior year had finally come around the corner, and although that meant only one more year of this hell, Mal couldn't help but feel slightly discouraged. Another semester had come around and she was down another member in her circle of friends. Freshman year had been the best; all her friends were with her from middle school and she even managed to make some new ones. However, for some reason or another, her best friend-now former best friend- had decided to join the cheer squad in their sophomore year. Mal assumed that Evie's mother had put her up to it and knowing Evie, she liked to avoid conflict with her family. At first, Mal thought that things between them wouldn't change, but Evie seemed to become a much meaner version of herself when she was with the rest of the clone squad.  
It didn't sit well with her.

And now this year, Ben had left for the year over seas on some exchange program and wouldn't be back until late April. He had sprung it on her last minute too, which still had Mal fuming at the thought of her boyfriend being in a different country, separated by an ocean, giving him plenty of opportunity to make connections with other girls. Mal forced the thought to the back of her mind though; she should trust Ben, not doubt him.  
"Are you going to move or not," a voice snapped, drawing Mal from her thoughts.

Harriet was a nuisance, to say the slightest, and had been since Mal had met the girl. Her brother and sister weren't much better, but more tolerable, to some extent; it really depended on the mood she was in. But with Harriet, Mal had had a strong feeling of dislike as soon as she had met the girl; it hadn't helped that she had been the one to scare Mal into a koi pond at a family friendly Halloween party, leaving her soaked from head to toe and smelling like pond water.

"Go around if I'm bothering you so much," Mal snapped back.  
"Well how about you stop playing statue games in the middle of the fracking room?" Harriet retorted, taking a step closer. Both of them were almost nose to nose, glaring angrily at each other, vivid green to baby blue. Mal could feel the tension between them, building so fast. In the back of her head, she knew that it wasn't a big issue, but Harriet just rubbed her the wrong way, it was almost impossible to not take the bait and egg her on.  
"Woah, woah, ladies," Jay said, running up next to Mal and stepping in between them. "Let's not fight. It's only the first week of school."

Jay slung an arm around her casually, pulling her away from Harriet, who stormed off in the opposite direction to join her gaggle of friends. Mal allowed Jay to lead her through the maze of halls to their lockers located near the fire exit on the east side of the building, which was farthest away from the central hub of the school. Carlos sat against the lockers, focused on the laptop in front of him.

"You're cutting it close," he said, not glancing up from whatever he was typing.  
"She was trying to pick a fight with Harriet." Jay exclaimed.  
"Seriously, Mal," Carlos said, sounding exasperated. He glanced up from the laptop, a somewhat concerned expression on his face. "Is this because Ben is gone?"  
"Why do you think that," Mal asked, trying best to not sound nasty. She hated it when either of them brought up Ben being miles away. She wondered how Carlos felt with Jane being on the same exchange program, since it didn't seem, not outwardly anyway, to effect him negatively as it was her.

"How do you deal with it, Carlos," she asked, throwing her bag to the ground before dropping down beside him. Carlos shut the laptop, his eyes staring off down the hall, in a moment of deep thought.  
"Well, there are ways you can still communicate with him," Carlos said, "Skype, email, texting if-"  
Mal nodded her head impatiently. "Yeah, we've been doing that since he left at the end of August. What I mean though is...don't you feel lonely?"  
Carlos stared at Jay for a moment, who shrugged, before turning back to Mal.  
"So, it's not Ben that's the problem, it's Evie?" he asked. "Or is it both?"  
"Stop trying to play psychiatrist," Mal grumbled. "I just can't shake the feeling. I don't know when it appeared."

She honestly didn't know when the she finally agreed with what her mind was telling her- that she was indeed experiencing what it felt like to be lonely. It was as though this darkness had emerged from somewhere deep within and began to eat away at her insides, leaving her empty, just a shell. It was there when Ben left, but Mal was pretty sure that it had appeared when Evie started to ignore all three of them, as though they didn't exist anymore.  
She had known Evie since preschool, so she could understand why the dark feeling of loneliness would have appeared when her best friend had cast her aside like clothing gone out of style.

"I just want it to go away," she muttered, drawing her knees up to her chest. Mal felt Jay sit down on her free side, pressed close against her body. She felt him wrap an arm around her shoulders in attempt to comfort.  
"You know how that saying goes," Jay said. "'This too shall pass.' It'll pass Mal, maybe not right away, but it will, and you'll feel a lot better. Just hold on, like that other saying-I think it was the Churchill guy that said it: 'If you're going through hell, keep going.'"

* * *

Jay and Mal lived within blocks of each other, so they liked to walk home together whenever it was possible. Lately though, Mal had tried to stay in her house as much as possible, leaving for school at the latest possible minute so she'd still be on time if she'd hurry. School had never really been anything special to her, but with Ben gone and Evie transformed into a clone, the place felt less friendly and she couldn't help but feel isolated. And although staying in meant that she was all the more isolated, she didn't feel like socializing with people she didn't know or didn't want to know.

Of course, she had Jay and Carlos, but she could never see herself being intimate with either of them, and she didn't want to hinder them by discussing girl problems. And, both of them seemed rather consumed with something lately. Mal had no idea what it was, but she assumed it was a big secret since it had been going on since the middle of last year. And although she was a stickler for being the odd man out, Mal let them be, because she knew they'd tell her if they thought it was necessary; she wasn't going to pry. So, instead of walking home with Jay, Mal walked home alone while Jay and Carlos stayed late after school, doing who knows what on the computer.

It was a quiet walk home; Mal lived in a neighbour hood that housed mostly aging and elderly couples, the kids that lived around her were all close to her age and didn't cause too much of a commotion. Normally, silences bothered Mal, especially the awkward ones, but this silence was peaceful; it allowed her to take in all her surroundings, analyzing the details she'd normally miss if she'd been with Jay or in some hurry. The summer heat had not yet faded, but she could sense in the slight breeze that autumn was going to be pushing its way in soon. She hoped not too soon though; she quite enjoyed the summer weather, and as soon as fall became official, winter came in like a bat out of hell- fast and furious. She hated the cold and snow, and honestly wished that she could hibernate like a bear until spring rolled around.

As she crossed the street, Mal caught a glance of someone flying by on a bike. She turned her head, her eyebrows rising in surprise at realizing Uma peddling past her. Even though Mal and Uma weren't friends, she knew that Uma didn't live anywhere close by, so she didn't have any real reason to be in the neighborhood, unless she was visiting someone, which Mal didn't think was likely. But, it didn't seem like she wasn't being a bother to someone else or planning on being a bother to her, so Mal let it go. As Jay had mentioned, it was only the first week of school-fights could wait until midway through the first semester.

Although Mal had been pushed into a koi pond when she was four or five, Uma had had a bucket of bad shrimp tossed on her when they'd been in the second grade, courtesy of Harriet Hook, of course. And although there were many people there to witness Mal falling into the pond as well as Uma being covered in shrimp, more people seemed to have memory of Uma's embarrassment; so it was win for her in that sense. There was still a small itch of curiosity of where Uma might be heading, but Mal didn't have enough interest to further pursue Uma's whereabouts; why should she care? It didn't seem to concern her.

Being home was lonely, whether she was home alone or not. Her mother wasn't home normally until late at night; that was the routine workaholic in her . She seemed to care more about her job than about her own daughter, at least that was in Mal's opinion. She obviously cared more about her work then her marriage since that had disintegrated by the time Mal was four, and sadly, her mother had gotten full custody. Now, every once in a blue moon, she might get a call or a letter from her father. There were times that she wished that her father would be more aggressive in wanting to be a part of her life, but she knew that the limited contact was probably her mother's doing. But with only the two of them in the house, and barely any conversations between each other, she thought that a father figure would be greatly appreciated.

Mal climbed the stairs to her room, which had great view of the backyard, although her mother had replaced most of the lawn with gravel or mulch and bizarre statues. Tossing her bag onto her bed and kicking off her shoes, Mal flopped down onto her bed with a heavy sizing. Her room was an explosion of purple and green, all different shades, clashing against one another for dominance. Her bedroom was probably the only place that Mal felt truly comfortable in her home. Her mother wasn't one to invade personal privacy since she was often too busy making phones calls, but having locks on the door helped too. Compared to the rest of the house, which was cold and modern, Mal's room held a warmth that welcomed someone to take a seat without fear of leaving a butt dent on the bed or cushions.

The only thing she did not currently like about her room was the collage of pictures she had made several years ago hanging over her desk like a large art mural in a gallery. It was a reminder, a painful one at that. There were so many good memories captured in pixels, and many of them had Evie in it. Sometimes, she wished that Evie leaving her, Jay and Carlos for the cheer squad was all just one, long bad dream.  
If only that were true.

She missed Evie, but couldn't find herself to try and confront the girl about their broken relationship. It seemed that with becoming a cheerleader, you had to move in packs, like wolves, and that intimidated Mal, though she hated to admit itl. She didn't want to approach Evie as part of a whole, but she never saw her at school anymore where she was alone. If fate offered the opportunity, she'd take it by the horns and see if she could get her friend back. She hoped that opportunity came soon, and she would be able to win Evie back to her side, because she really didn't want to look for someone to replace Evie, since Mal knew deep down, that the search would be endless.

"This too shall pass."

* * *

 **A/N:** Firstly, I want to thank those that left comments, it means a lot to me. Secondly, before anyone comments about the whole shrimp incident, yes I have read the books and seen the movies, but I'm changing it in this story because why not. Thirdly, I hope that there are no major typos; I was more awake while editing this chapter than the first. And lastly, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. I hope to update again at least once more before I leave on vacation, but no promises because life can get crazy sometimes.

~dendragon14


	3. Chapter 3: Always There, My Queen

**Chapter Three:** Always Have Your Back, My Queen

Uma tried to forgot about the fact that the sunlight was rapidly fading and even though it was still generall warm outside, with the sunlight disappearing, so was the warmth. Uma sighed heavily. debating whether she should leave or stay just a litttle longer; she really didn't want to bike home in pitch blackness. Her bike had no lights or reflectors, so she was more likely to get hit.

"You know I don't mind," Desiree said, "If you want to stay the night, it's fine. Morgan sometimes crashes here when he's mom being too bitchy." Uma smiled, feeling flattered that her aquaintance had offered. She hadn't known Desiree too long, but Uma assumed that if she was good friends with Morgan, than she'd be an alright pal for Uma.  
"Thanks for the hospitality," Uma said, standing and stretching from the spot she had been curled in the past hour, casually watching reruns of Family Feud with Desiree. "But I don't want to be a bother. There's one more place I have to go before the day is done."  
"Okay, well if you need me, I'm here." Desiree gave Uma a quick hug before wishing her well at the door.

* * *

Harry had texted her earlier after school had let out, asking if she wanted to drop by for a bit later. She agreed in a heartbeat since it looked like she'd never see him properly outside of school this year. This year, they only managed to share lunch, which was a miracle in itself, but Uma sadly didn't share any actual classes with Gil or Harry, which must have been incredibly hard for the school staff to do. But, in the back of her head, Uma assumed that they wanted it that way. Sometimes, when the three of them were together, they could be a bit much at times, depending on the situation and such.

As she rode up to Harry's house, she noticed a figured sitting on the curb, their legs sprawled out before them. With the night sky quickly approaching, it was hard to make out who it was, but Uma knew it had to be Harry as soon as she saw a small little orange orb light up.

"Why are you sitting out here," she asked. She threw her bike to the lawn and pulled off her helmet, placing it atop the fallen bike. She came and sat down next to Harry, who offered her his lit cigarette. She shrugged and took it, tagging a quick drag before handing it back.

"I can't be alone in my own house anymore; I need some space. I just wish the fucking honeymoon was over already," he grumbled. "Somehow, I think it would be better if me Da was back, maybe Harriet wouldn't be such a bossy bitch, and Henry would stop trying to have a conversation with me." Uma didn't really know what to say to him; she didn't have any siblings, so she couldn't relate to having such a busy household. But from the time she'd known Harry, she'd learned over time that Harriet was a pest, like a mosquito that just wouldn't quit; she lived to embarass and one up Harry and Uma was very aware of how much Harry hated it.

After a moment of thought, she replied,"It can't be all that bad, Harry." Sometimes she wished that she had a family like Harry's or Gil's, maybe she'd be more content that way. "I'm sure there could be a lot worse things going on in your life."  
"I don't like him, Uma," Harry grumbled, his eys growing dark, "He seems like the better verison of meself; it makes me uncomfortable.:What if my Da likes him better than me?"  
Uma scoffed. "You honestly think that? I was at the wedding, remember? Henry looks like a complete dweeb, I don't know what your father would find better about him anyway."

Harry smiled slightly, nodding in agreement with her statement. He took a long drawn on the cigarette, the lit end glowing orange in the night, like an evil eye.  
"What about ye," he asked, stamping the cigarette butt on the sidewalk, changing the subject before the conversation could get any more touchy. "Are you okay? Is your mum whaling on you or something?" Uma sighed internally.

Of course he'd bring up the bruise he saw earlier on her; that was just Harry. He'd alway had a concern for her that most other people didn't show for her, so she had always seen it as a gesture of kindness. And even though the two of them had been friends for nearly a decade, Uma didnt't want to bring any of her friends into the her home life if she could avoid it. When Ursuala was mad, she lashed out at whatever or whoever was closest, it didn't matter if that whoever was blood related or not; Uma feared that her friends could get hurt, and she'd never forgive herself if one of them was.  
"I'm fine." Her voice was monotone, and if she knew that, she knew that Harry knew that too. Just by the way he cocked his head at her and the way his eyebrows rose in question confirmed her thoughts.

"Well, if you ever need help, you know where to find me and Gil. We'll always have yer back, my queen."

* * *

Uma hated having to go home, but she couldn't be a burden too much to her friends. Although normally, when she got in the door at ten or eleven o'clock at night, she was still the first one home. Recently, her mother, Ursula had lost her job. Unable to pay the lease of where her crappy little restuarnat sat, the bank took it back and evicted her. With no job, her mother had been sitting at home all summer, bringing home people, mostly men, of suspicion with her.

The atmosphere between these strangers and her mother could get very heated sometimes, to a point where Uma could hear the groaning of pleasure and the banging of the headboard hitting the bed. However, her mother had managed to find work eventually at a bar downtown, as a waitress/ bartender. It was in Uma's advantage that her mother was gone until the wee hours of the morning, but sadly, sometimes her gentleman friends tended to stay longer than intended, or sometimes, appeared unexpectedly on Ursula's doorstep. And it wouldn't have been the first time that one of them had come after her, looking for a quick shag to fix their itch.

Sometimes things happend, sometimes Uma got off lucky.  
More often than not, she fought back if they came after her. There had only been a handful of occasions where they hadn't taken no or a slap to the face for an answer. Sometimes, Uma wished that she was stronger, more intimidating, or had mace or a taser hidden nearby that she could use to defend herself. Thankfully though, she had spared herself the trauma of sexual assualt; she knew enough about self defense to knock her mother's escorts to their knees; she supposed that them being completely wasted helped too.

Surprisingly, as she rode up into her driveway, the lights were on. Uma assumed that it was Sadly though, as she came in through the front door, she had only taken off her shoes and had started to head down the hall to her bedroom when she heard the heavy footsteps of her mother.

"You little rat," Ursula shouted from behind her. Uma felt the drunken anger in her voice, but refused to turn around. She froze mid step as a glass ash tray shattered next to her head. "I get home from work early and there's no food in this godforsaken place! Can't you do anything right, like go to the grocery store when we need food?"

Uma sighed and headed back to where she had placed her shoes, intent on heading to the grocery store before it closed. All the while, Ursula continued to yell at her, but Uma just blocked it all out, she'd become so numb to it. Needless to say,Uma crawled into bed well after midnight, exhausted; both emotionally and physically. Biking around practiacally from one side of the two to other had also worn her out. Her legs hurt from hurriedly peddling to the grocery store before it closed. Knowing her mother, who had passed out on the couch not long after throwing the ashtray at Uma for target practice.

She just didn't have anymore room in her heart for her mother or the flood of negative emotions she carried with her. As soon as she turned eighteen, she was leaving. Even though Ursula was the one that gave birth to her, Uma hated her; she was no mother, just someone who had had a baby. She'd always seen a difference in the two. As soon as she was eighteen, she was leaving this hell hole. Anywhere would be better.

* * *

 **A/N:** So there is the third chapter, hope you enjoyed. Reviews and constructive criticism is welcomed, as are favorites and follows. Thanks again to the people who have commented, I am very glad you are enjoying it!


	4. Chapter 4: Year for Change

**A/N: Okay, so I realized that in the previous chapter I forgot to put a note at the top regarding the fact that there is a mention of abuse. Sorry about that. And this chapter has characters who fall into the LGBTQ community.  
Also, just to clarify; Lefou is in this chapter, but I am using Lefou as his surname (last name), and I have given him the name of Louis as a first name.  
**

* * *

 **Chapter Four:** The Year for Change

Tryouts were on Monday and he was dreading it and he knew that he'd be dreading it all weekend. But he still had Friday to get through before he could put all his energy into worrying through the weekend.  
He'd been playing since freshman year, so a spot for him was guarnateed more or less. But lately, over the summer, he'd been thinking about quitting the team and maybe test the waters for something he actually enjoyed doing. Football had never been his thing; the only reason he'd joined was because his brothers had been on the team all throughout their highschool years and his fathers more or less encouraged him to try out.  
So he went ahead with it, even though his soul really wasn't in the spirit of playing.

He was glad that last night it had rained for a bit, the coolness of the morning would fade away by lunch, which was a shame, but Gil could use the advantage of the cool morning to his advantage. It made the perfect weather to go for a run. A morning run was really the only time he got any alone time. His parents had a no lock policy, meaning whoever could barge into his room whenever they felt like it. And, annoyingly, his brothers did that way too often, as did his fathers. So, normally, he was the first one up in the morning to get that uniterrupted time to himself.

Most people seemed to listen to music when they went for a run, but Gil found it more relaxing when he was left with his own thoughts. The quiet of the streets and the cool morning light just before the sun peaked over the horizon was so pleasing to all his senses, he didn't want music to take away from that, even though he wasn't one to hate music. But compared to music, the way the air felt in his lungs and his nose when he breathed it in, and the way the cool, morning air nipped at his sweat soaked skin was almost euphoric.

His time alone running allowed him to mull over his thoughts, but lately his thought about quitting football had been dominating over all the other thoughts floating around in his conscious. And even though he had nearly every morning during the summer to run, he couldn't come to a decision; his head wanted one thing, his heart wanted the opposite. Needless to say, it was beginning to frustrate him a lot.

He'd been so consumed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice that Louis was up, preparing breakfast, when Gil entered the kitchen through the patio door.  
"Good morning," Louis said brightly, his back to Gil as he focused on cooking bacon. Next to him, Louis was the one that was up the earliest among the rest of his family; over the years of being together with Gaston, he'd come to love cooking.  
"Morning Louis," Gil replied, still catching his breath. He headed to the bathroom for a quick shower and dressed simply in jeans and a T-shirt. After having a good serving of Louis breakfast, Gil passed over an offer from his brothers and rode his skateboard to school. Knowing them, if he had accepted the ride, he'd be taunted and teased the entire ride there; it wasn't the best way to start the day.

He'd barely met up with Harry at their lockers before he felt himself being dragged back into the student body by Evie's perfectly manicured hands. He allowed her to lead him through the halls towards the library to the place where she liked to have a little private time with him, and Gil couldn't help but feel like an animal caught in a trap; he desperately wanted out.

* * *

Gil practically knew that it second bell was about to ring when Evie showed up at his locker in the morning. She'd drag him away from his locker, not caring about whether or not he had his necessary textbooks or if he'd been in the middle of a conversation with Harry or Uma. She'd typically drag him into an alcove near the library and force him into making out.

Gil liked his hair on the longer side, but kept it back into a pony tail most days. Evie pulled the hair tie out, allowing his hair to fall loose to hang just above his shoulders.  
"What are you doing," he asked, pushing her back slightly away from him. No one except his family generally saw him with his hair down, so Gil couldn't help but feel a bit exposed as Evie's dark eyes stared at him, drinking him like she was dying of thirst. It was unnerving about they way she looked at him, it seemed a bit too possessive for his liking.

"You know, you'd look really good with short hair," Evie commented softly, her hands threading themselves through his hair. "But then I wouldn't be able to run my hands through this lions mane." She rubbed at his scalp and pulled him in for another kiss. It took him by surprise, not allowing him to take in a breath before he felt her lips on his, gently trying to force his mouth open so her tongue could slide in. It was more than uncomfortable, to say the least.

He pushed her away, against the wall of the alcove they stood in. The possessive look in Evie's eyes drained to be replaced by a look of utter annoyance.  
"What is your problem this morning," Evie said, pulling away from him. Gil felt the muscles in his shoulders relax as her touch disappeared from around his head. "Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed or something?"

"No, I just don't think we should be doing this right now," he said hurriedly. He could never recall the feeling of wanting to get to class so badly; he just wanted to escape from Evie. It wasn't that he hated her, but he just didn't share any romantic feelings towards her. And when he thought about it, he couldn't even remember why they had started dating in the first place.  
In all honesty, Gil wanted to break up with Evie. He knew that it'd probably break her heart, but it would be setting his caged heart free. Besides, there were many fish in the sea, and Evie was beautiful and smart-she could easily get another guy wrapped around her little finger.

* * *

Unfortunately, Monday rolled around extremely fast; that was no surprise there since school had only been back in session for three days before the first weekend. It was also not a surprise that the coach, assistant coach and other teammates from last year were happy to see him back on the field, trying out for junior varsity. He wouldn't have been the first of his family to make senior varsity if he decided to keep going; his brothers had made senior varsity and even happened to earn scholarships and were now attending the community college for carpentry and welding.

The tryouts started right after school and went straight until five o'clock. The sun was just beginning to reach the lower half of the sky and the field had cleared pretty quickly, everyone eager to get home and rest. Gil had volunteered to help put supplies away and he was just on his way to the locker room when he saw someone coming bounding down from the bleachers. From afar, it was hard to see in the fading of the sun, but just by the way the person carried themselves, he could tell it was Harry.

"Why are you here, Harry? I thought you hated sports."  
"Aye, I do hate sports, but I came to support you." He slung an arm over Gil's shoulder as they headed towards the locker room. "Whatever it was you were doing on the field looked mighty good."  
"Thanks," Gil laughed. "

The locker room was just being vacated by the stragglers who'd had showed up for try outs. They gave a quick hello/goodbye to Gil before he and Harry slipped in through the doors. Gil headed straight for the lockers; he'd shower when he got home.

"You're not going to take a shower?"  
Gil turned the corner to head towards his locker, Harry trailing behind.  
"What, you want to see me naked, Harry?" Gil chuckled. Harry raised his eyebrows.  
"Are you offering? I wouldn't say no." A wicked smiled appeared upon his friend's face. "So you think you'll make the team?"  
"Probably, but I don't really even want to be on the team this year."

"You don't want to play on the team?" Harry asked. He sounded surprised, which didn't surprise Gil because he hadn't shared his thoughts of quitting the team with anyone. He didn't want to have multiple opinions floating around in his head since it would just confuse how he actually felt about the situation at hand. "Than why the bloody hell were you trying out?"  
"Because it's what they expect." Gil sighed. He pulled off his jersey and shoulder pads, placing them roughly on the bench. He turned around, searching his locker for her deodorant.

"Well, give em a show then and do the unexpected." Harry said estatically, slapping him on the ass. Gil turned around and glared at his friend, who just gave him a cheeky smiled in return.  
"You think so?"  
"Yer not a puppet, Gil," Harry said, his voice sincere. "Don't let others make decisions for you."

* * *

Dinner was agonizingly slow. Gil wasn't even hungry, but he knew that if he didn't eat anything or left the table too early, Louis would have questions. And if there was anything worse than his father being mad, it was having his dad's partner, Louis ask questions and then having Gaston pressue him when he tried to dodge the questions the first time.

When he was younger, Gil hadn't really questioned why he had two fathers They had told him his mother had died not long after he was born, Louis had stuck around to help out and they had come to love one another as more than just friends, so it made sense to him; Louis filled the hole that his mother had left behind. Throughout his short sixteen years of life, there were people that did make fun of both him and his fathers, but Gil knew that Gaston would beat whoever if they so much as looked at him or his partner in the wrong way. Perhaps that was why he tried to avoid making his birth father mad whenever possible; he'd seen Gaston angry before and it was not a pretty sight; at the time, Gil had been ten and he had wanted to run and hide.

He was wondering how much trouble he'd be in if he just up and left and refused to talk the rest of the night. He knew that his parents weren't very fond of the "typical teen" attitude and he'd be more than likely to get a slap upside the head for such behavior. But he really didn't feel like talking, he just wanted to retire to his room for the night and sleep.

"Earth to Gil." The voice of his father, followed by an elbow from one of his brothers brought Gil back to the present.

"What?"  
"Tryouts were today, right? How'd they go?" his father asked, glancing briefly up from his meal. Gil stifled a sigh; what could he possibly say without revealing the fact that he planned on quitting if he made the team.  
"Fine."

"I'm sure you'll make the team. Maybe you'll even get offered a scholarship this year," his father said.  
"You'd be able to make plans for college," Louis said, sounding excited. He was always excited when it came to his and his brothers' schooling; Gil assumed that it was because Louis hadn't gone to college because of an ailing mother and father.

"Shouldn't there be a limit on how many scholarships can go to kids in the same family?" He mentally slapped himself at the slip of his tongue, wishing he could shove the words back into his mouth.  
"Do you not want to go to college," Louis asked. "I'm sure there are other options if-"  
"No, it's not that," Gil replied, although that was probably partial reason. He'd know since elementary that he wasn't the smartest, and it didn't really bother him. But if was to get a scholarship, he wanted it to be for something other than football; it wasn't his dream. "I'm thinking that if I want to get a scholarship, I want to get it for something other than sports."

"You do know that's a pretty slim chance," Junior laughed, while his twin nodded along in agreement.  
"More like no chance. You're kind of a moron. You know that right, Gil?" Bronze asked. Gil pursed his lips to keep in the insults he wanted to hurl back. His brothers were constantly trying to get under his skin because they knew that he was sensitive to criticism. Depsite what others might think about him, about being the golden boy with a high sense of self worth, Gil felt super self-concious most of the time. The only time that feeling disappeared was when he was with Harry and Uma; he knew that they accepted him as he was. They didn't try to change him, like Evie and they didn't belittle him, like his brothers.

"Boys, that's horrible to say to your brother," Louis said.  
"But it's true," the twins replied in unison. Gaston glared at his twins, silencing them saying anything more with a firm shake of his head. He turned his attention back to Gil. His father's eyes were laced with pity, which bothered Gil, because even though everyone, including Gil himself knew that he didn't excel when it came to academics, he didn't want anyone's pity, especially not his father's. It seemed that everyone thought that he wasn't capable of being anything more than a jock. He was wondering if it was possible to change yourself when everyone had already slapped a label onto your face.

* * *

Gil had been just about ready to retire for the night when his father came into the room. Well, more like lingered in the doorway.  
"Do you mind if I come in," Gaston asked. Internally, Gil sighed, wishing he could blatantly say no, but he knew how well that would go over.  
"I guess so," he replied stoically. There was an awkward moment of silent as Gaston made himself comfortable on Gil's bed and Gil spun around to face him on his computer chair. After what seemed like half an hour, which in reality was probably only about two minutes, his father finally spoke.

"You remind so much of your mother," he said, his eyes staring off into a far away place. Gil knew that his birth father wasn't much for talking, especially talks that involved having to be reassuring or calming, but Gil knew that his father meant well. He was trying, although it made Gil want to cringe and ask his dad to stop talking right now. Instead, he allowed the silence between him and his father to grow, secretly hoping that Gaston would grow uncomfortable and decide to shut down the entire conversation.

"She wanted to follow her dreams, and she didn't care what anyone else said." He smiled sadly, as though his mind was caught in a memory. "It's a shame she didn't get to follow them." He turned his attention back to Gil, the far away look in his eyes disappearing as he came back to the present. "You do what you think is best for you." His words said one thing, but the look in his eyes told Gil something else. They were laced with pity again, or maybe it was sympathy, the two always looked similar to Gil.

"Thanks, dad." He wasn't sure of what else to say. He waited until his father had left and closed the door before Gil released a heavy sigh. That talk hadn't really helped at all; talking about his deceased mother did him no good, it just made him feel sad at the fact that he hadn't known his mother. Some of the stories he heard from both Gaston and Louis made his mother seem like a really great person.

That night, Gil went to bed with a thousand thoughts jumping through his head like fleas on a dog.  
He had a girlfriend he didn't love. He was playing a sport he didn't like. Everyone thought he was stupid but self-confident. Gil wanted to change all of those statements. It was the start of a new school year, and this year could be a year for changes. He would tell Evie how he actually felt and find someone he actually loved. He would quit the team, when he found out he made it, and find something else that he enjoyed, maybe join the track team.

He wanted to stop hating who he was, thinking that by doing what was expected of him he'd be happy. Harry had been right when he said that Gil wasn't a puppet and that others shouldn't make his own decisions. He wanted to become his own person.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed. Feel free to comment and leave constructive criticism; it's much appreciated to know what you all think about this story. And thank you to those that have left feedback. Also , sorry if this chapter is super long, I wasn't sure where to cut if off. And I hope that the editing is okay, there was a lot to go through. I know it probably doesn't matter, but I'd like to hear what POVs you are most excited about reading.**


	5. Chapter 5: Not Alone

**Chapter Five:** Not Alone

He was hoping the new school year would end smoother than last year did. Last year he had crashed and burned, and it wasn't because of the stress of exams. It was about something far more personal, so personal he wasn't sure if he should tell anyone. All the problems had started in the second semester, not long after Christmas break. The email he had recieeved during last year's second semester from an unknown source had struck more than one nerve, it had struck many and frazzled them all. It had bothered him all through the summer and it had eaten hours off of his sleep.

Lonnie was first to comment on how he was starting to look like a racoon due to the dark circles under his eyes. His half-brother Aziz, noted that Jay seemed jumpy and a little paranoid. And this was true; he had a right to be jumpy and paranoid. Someone had been watching him through a lens and snapping photos. Obscene didn't know why he had been targeted. He didn't know if anyone else at school had seen the picture. He didn't want to know what kind of people were looking at the picture.

Jay just wanted to forgot that it existed, but it was there, in color and in hundreds of thousand little pixels. He didn't tell his father, or his mother, or anyone. But Carlos seemed to catch onto his sudden shift in behaviour since he seemed to latch onto Jay like a baby koala to its mother. Just before their sophomore year wrapped out, Carlos eventually confronted Jay on his behaviour, and Jay had caved like a mine without support beams.

It felt good having someone else know. The sick feeling he had had in the depths of his stomach had eased considerably, but he was still distraught about the fact that someone had taken nude photos of him and more than likely spread them throughout the internet. If it was on the internet, which he assumed it was, it would be there forever; talk about the lack of privacy.

"Are you sure it wasn't one of the other guys from our gym class, or one of the sports teams trying to pl-"  
"I'm sure about it, 'Los!" Jay exclaimed, struggling to keep his voice down to a conversational tone. "If it was a joke, it would have been plastered all over the school. Everyone would know. This was creepy. It came from an email address I've never known and it's probably on the internet but I'm too scared to look...What if there are dozens, or hundreds-"  
Carlos placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "Jay, calm down. It'll be alright."

* * *

And now, here they were in their junior year and they were still trying to deal with the problem. It still grated on Jay's nerves, and he wasn't sure how much more of it he could take. The little voice in his head wondered time and again if things were going to ever be "alright" again.

Instead of heading home with Mal after final bell, Jay met up with Carlos outside near the bike racks while the school emptied. Sometimes, Jay wanted to get Mal involved in their situation; she was good at dealing with the pressure that came along with problems. But at the same time, he didn't want to involve her if it wasn't necessary; right now, Carlos seemed like more than enough help. And he was the only one of their small group that had a decent understanding of computers; he wasn't sure how Mal would react to the situation on hand. She could be rather hot headed at times, and Jay didn't want her exploding on him for trying to keep it hidden for so long. Especially from her.  
Thankfully, Mal was more concerned about her own problems at the moments than his own, which was just fine with him.

"Let's go to the library," Carlos said, leading the way, "I don't want to dig for this kind of info at home." Jay trailed slightly behind his smaller friend, hands shoved deep into his pockets, his mind floating up into the clouds.

"So, I was thinking that whoever took this picture is most likely someone from the school," Carlos said, keeping his voice relatively low so anyone passing by wouldn't overhear them. "So that narrows it down a lot. Whether that be student or teacher, that's not clear yet, but I feel like it could be a teacher with what you said about if people were pulling a prank." He really appreciated that Carlos was so eager to help him find out who had taken the photo and released it onto the world wide web, but at the same time, there was this anxiety that gnawed at his innards about solving the problem, if it could be solved. Sometimes ignorance was bliss, not knowing better than knowing. Hearing Carlos say that there was a possibility that there was a teacher taking photos of students while they changed deeply disturbed him.

"What if we're just creating a bigger problem, Carlos?" he asked, coming to a stop just outside the library doors.  
"How would we be making the problem bigger," Carlos asked. He pushed open the doors to the library and led Jay to study table that was in the farthest corner of the library in a fairly empty, secluded area. "I'm trying to help you Jay; I'll be as careful as I can."  
"I mean, I know you're practically a genius, but what if you make a mistake and instead of sending the police after the Peeping Tom, what if they come after us."

There were times that Jay wished that he was technologically savvy instead of athletically inclined, but if he was, he probably wouldn't have met Lonnie by being a computer nerd. Not that there was anything wrong with being a computer nerd; Carlos had helped him out countless times and he had managed to meet sweet Jane through his engineering class. So, their talents had worked out for them in their own way.

While Carlos dug around and tried to hack into whatever system, Jay tried to focus on some of the homework that had been given to him for his Geography class, anything to try and calm his nerves about what Carlos might find. He was surprised that for the first full week back to school, the homework seemed like too much, but as his teacher, Mr. Fitzgerald, had said, he wanted to everyone to get a look ahead before they came to the hurdle. At least, it was something like that.

He wasn't aware that he had drifted into a sleepy daze until he heard Carlos call out his name rather loudly, even though he was siting right across from the smaller boy, which resulted in some cross stares from other students who stayed behind to do school work.  
"What did you find?" Jay asked past the building lump in his throat.

"Okay, so there's good news, and there's bad news." He glanced towards Jay; Carlos' eyes read as concerned, but his posture showed excitement, which left Jay feeling confused. " Which do you want to hear first?" Jay gripped the table tightly as he felt his stomach clench in anticipation. Did he really want to know about the good or bad news? Right now, his gut was definitely tell him that no news was good news. He didn't want to hear any of whatever Carlos had found.

"Okay, bad news is that whoever took this picture and sent it is covering up his tracks. I can't locate the original IP address that it was sent from; it keeps bouncing around. And, from what I've seen while searching around, the photo is on a couple of porn sites. The good news though...," he trailed off, his eyes drifting back to the computer screen before darting back to Jay's face.  
"What, Carlos, just tell me already."

Carlos took a deep breath and exhaled equally as heavily. "I mean, I think it's good news, for you anyway." Jay glared at his friend, urging him to hurry up and spit it out for him. He couldn't take much more waiting or the anticipation just might kill him.

"Whoever is taking pictures wasn't targeting only you Jay." Carlos glanced around for prying eyes before turning his laptop around to face Jay. "There are other students from this school that have their picture up here. They're in the same situation as you Jay; you're not alone."

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry that this chapter was a lot shorter than the others. For some reason, Jay and Carlos are probably the most difficult for me to write. But I hope you enjoy! And thank you to those that have left reviews; they really make my day! This will probably be my last update until April; I'm going on vacation in a few days so I won't have access to my computer.**


	6. Chapter 6: Make it a Plan

**Chapter Six** : **Make it a Plan**

Most of his life, he'd been a rather timid person. A wallflower that blended in at social functions and had more fun with his nose stuck in a book than out at one of the school's pep rallies or sports game. However, Carlos thought that over the years, his timid nature had faded a bit as he got into his high school years. He had wonderful friends that would stand up for him, and the bond that he made with them over the years made him fiercely protective of them.

He'd fight for them, which was saying a lot in his opinion since he normally liked to remain out of physical confrontation whenever possible. And yet, despite becoming less timid over the years, people still thought they could take advantage of him. It didn't bother him really; he kind of expected it; he was small for his age, so it made sense that everyone would want to pick on the smallest, thinking that he couldn't defend himself. But he'd never thought in a million years that someone would take advantage of Jay and make his friend feel so vulnerable.

Jay was similar to an idol in Carlos' mind; he was outgoing and friendly, athletic and tall; everything that Carlos wished he had in his next life. He wasn't jealous of his friend but was glad that someone as great and as popular as Jay would want to be friends with someone as geeky as Carlos. When they'd met in elementary, it was Jay who had come up to him, asking to play even though there were dozens of other children to choose from; he chose to befriend to geeky little mouse in the corner reading a book about outer space. To Carlos, that said a lot to him about the character that Jay was.

And it bothered him that Jay was so deeply bothered by the leaked nude photo. There were only three people in his life that he hated to see in a distraught state: Mal, Jay, and his mother. And with his mother generally a distraught mess most of the time when she was in one of her "inspirational" manic states, seeing two of these three people in distress made him feel distraught himself.

He wasn't good when it came to anxiety. In an attempt to shake the feeling that clung to him like a monkey on his back, Carlos had been searching non-stop to try and figure out where the original location of the email had come the age of six, Carlos had learned that his mother was a bit of a lost cause; he couldn't force her to take her meds, but Jay was not. He wasn't about to give up in searching for the culprit, but at the same time, he didn't want to alert any undercover cops browsing around online for pedophiles and such. Jay was right when he said he had to be careful. Unfortunately, the thoughts of cops and prison only succeeded in making his anxiety worse.

Needless to say, after finding out about Jay's secret, Carlos had become more wary about the locker rooms himself in fear that someone would capture his nude image without permission. From the other pictures he had found that captured some students he knew, all of them were taken in the boys locker room, either around the locker area or in the showers themselves.

It was disturbingly strange that no one had caught glimpse of a Peeping Tom with a camera at their side; it was as though they were like steam, appearing when the water ran hot and disappearing as soon as the water had run cold. And walking around with a camera in a locker room of all places seemed rather suspicious to begin with. From the porn site where he had found Jay's picture, he had found six other schoolmates nudes as well. Not all he was friendly with, but he knew them all by name and face. He didn't know if they knew about the pictures like Jay did, but if they didn't he wanted them to know. Perhaps if they teamed up together, they'd be able to catch whoever the culprit was.  
It was a plan that he would have to put into action.

* * *

Most days after school had let out, Carlos liked to take his little furry friend, Dude, for a walk. And most days, he was rather routine about it, but today he was running a bit behind because he had gotten so caught up in trying to find the Peeping Tom's true IP address. Although he hated to admit it, whoever this person was, they were really smart; they must have been bouncing their signal off of more than a dozen IP addresses if Carlos couldn't track them down immediately.

He hadn't even taken two steps on the side walk before he saw Evie come down the street with her clones in tow. They were all chatting over one another, which vaguely reminded Carlos of the sea gulls from Finding Nemo. A few of them glanced at him and gave him a snarky little smile. Evie paid him no attention. Even though Evie had disconnected from him and others last year, the ache he felt every time he saw her still felt fresh. He missed Evie, but he wouldn't know how to go about winning her back; he wasn't great when it came to talking to girls, even if these girls were his friends.

Evie and Carlos had been neighbours practically their entire lives. When they had been friends, it had been a great advantage to see each other everyday, especially if Mal or Jay weren't available for whatever reason. Their rooms were right across from one another, and their houses mirrored design layouts, so sometimes they'd sit out on their respective roofs and watch the stars. It had been nice to have private, quiet moments like that with Evie and it was such a shame that Evie seemed to want nothing to do with him, Jay or Mal anymore. Carlos had never thought that joining cheer team would change her so much, Evie seemed so resilient to change, but obviously he had been wrong about that. He wondered if he was wrong about anything else when it came to his friends.

* * *

The weekend was coming to an end rather quickly, and tomorrow Monday morning would be the official second full week of school. And although that didn't sound like an accomplishment to most people, Carlos was glad to survive the first entire week of school without having any pranks played on him. Thank god there were freshmen for that.

Carlos had stopped by over at Jay's, who seemed glad to get out of his place for the night, and headed back over to his place. It wasn't very often that Jay stayed over at his house; he rarely had anyone over due to his mother being rather insane or drunk or a combination of the two. But when she wasn't drunk, she actually was fairly productive when it came to her line of work. Cruella had become an insanely popular fashion designer in Europe and her career was finally starting to take roots in good ol' USA. However, Carlos assumed that the stress was getting to her lately; the more stressed she was, the more liquor that disappeared from the wine cabinet.  
It was nothing new for him, but it was starting to worry him nonetheless.

As Carlos turned the key in the lock and pushed open the door, he could hear two loud voices coming from the living room, neither of which belonged to his mother. Carlos sighed heavily, hurriedly ushering Jay upstairs towards his room before his mother's goons realized that he was home. Carlos wasn't exactly sure what the relationship between Horace, Jasper and his mother was. He knew they were more than friends, and when he was younger his mother had referred to them as his uncles, even though they weren't blood relatives. But they always seemed to be around; needless to say he tried to avoid being in the same room as them.

They could be a bit strange at times, and they weren't exactly the brightest, but Carlos appreciated the fact that they both seemed interested in his inventions, even though they had no idea what he was talking about. But today, he wanted to stay out of their way. He rarely brought anyone home with home. He feared that they'd run into his mother, who was more than a bit unhinged, and normally drinking wine like it was going out of style, and if she was super drunk, well then...she could chat your ear off as long as Cruella was in a good mood. Anything other than happy and she'd be ready to hurl the closest object at whoever happened to walk by.

Luckily though, his mother wasn't anywhere on the second floor so it was easy to sneak Jay into his room. It was only when the two snuck downstairs to get something to eat that they ran into her sitting in the parlor, a glass of wine in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other. The room was thick with the stench of smoke from the cancer stick. It felt like a bear trap

"Darling, who's your friend? I don't think I've met them." Carlos fought the urge to roll his eyes; this statement was not true, Jay had met his mother numerous times, the first time being at his eighth birthday party when it had just been him, Jay, Evie and Mal.  
"This is Jay, you've met before.'  
"Hmm,: she muttered. She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Well, I certainly don't recognize the young man."

"Whatever happened to that blue haired girl," his mother asked, placing her glass of wine carefully back onto its coaster. "She had a decent sense and understanding of fashion. I quite liked her actually."

"You mean Evie?" His mother nodded, taking a long drag off of the cigarette she had in hand. "Yes, that one. She would have made such a good work assistant. She actually knew how to sew and make the clothing she designed." Her eyes focused onto Jay as though she had only just realized he was in the room. Her beady little eyes traveled up and down his body. As she took a swallow of wine, she pointed at him with her cigarette, the butt glowing an angry orange.

"Have you ever thought about modeling? You certainly have the looks and body for it." In his peripheral vision, Carlos noted the way Jay shifted uncomfortably under his mother's words; they were definitely the wrong thing to say at the moment with what Jay was dealing with. They needed to get out of the room before his mother decided to tell some story; she tended to ramble way too much when she was drunk.  
"Jay was actually helping me with fixing that upstairs heater. You know, the one in the office." It wasn't technically a lie, but Carlos wanted to get back upstairs before his mother could start a drunken tale. But sooner rather than later, Carlos would have to get around to fixing said heater or his mother would box his ears, and that wasn't just an expression.

Once they had consumed their snacks of Cheetos and Mountain Dew, Carlos redrew their focus back to the porn site and the photos. After several quiet moments, he turned to Jay, who gave him a strange look.  
"What's with that expression Carlos, I don't like it."  
"So, those photos I found, apparently on this site you can organize them into folders, depending on what you want to look at."  
"And where is my picture filed to?"

"Yours and the others are under a folder that's just labeled "School Boys"." He took a swig of his drink and spun his computer desk chair around to face Jay, who sat on his bed. "And I'm starting to think that we should let Mal in on this."  
"Why?"  
"Ben's on here."

"Shit," Jay muttered. He flopped backwards onto Carlos' bed, covering his face with his hands. "Do we really have to let Mal in on all of this?" Carlos glanced back at the small list of names he had gathered from going through the pictures on the site and then looked back to his friend. He knew Jay wanted to keep the issue as quiet as possible, but Carlos wanted to do right by the others that had their bodies on the internet for all to see; there was a possibility that they, unlike Jay, were uninformed about the nude photos floating around a porn site. But did they really want to get Mal involved?

"I think we should tell Mal, and the other boys that we found on here." Carlos stated. Jay glanced at him from between his hands. He groaned and slowly boosted himself into a sitting position. "Why do you have to be so moral?" "It's the right thing to do, Jay. Besides, Ben is on this list. He's our friend; I'm looking out for him just like I am for you." Jay sighed heavily, visibly upset about the idea of telling other people.

"Who else is on the list?" Jay demanded, the curiosity too much for him to handle.

"Chad, Herkie, Aziz, Gil and Harry." If hearing Ben was on the list upset Jay, hearing the other names made him groan. Once in disgust, once in hate, and thrice for good measure. He got up from Carlos' bed and bent over his shoulder to see the laptop screen better. Carlos watched silently as Jay browsed through the pictures, his expression darkening as he came to the pictures of Aziz.

Carlos knew vaguely that Jay's family was a bit...complicated. Aziz and Jay both shared the same mother, but their fathers were different, and unfortunately, not on best terms with one another. But, as Jay had put it, it hadn't stopped him and Aziz from being brothers and friends. Carlos could only imagine what thoughts were going through Jay's mind at seeing his half-brother's image on here; if he had had any siblings, Carlos would more than likely want to protect them as much as possible. Jay sighed deeply, his breath tickling the side of Carlos' face. He sounded annoyed, but by the way his hand, which had been resting on his desk, had turned to a fist, Jay seemed way past he point of annoyed.

"Okay, do you have a plan on what to do next? Who do we talk to first and what do we tell them?"

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, I lied. One more chapter before I leave for vacation. Hope you enjoy! Likes and reviews are highly, and always appreciated as is constructive criticism if you have it. I honestly found Jay and Carlos hard to write, so I hope I did de Vil justice because he is one of my favorite boys, along with Gil and Harry.**


	7. Chapter 7: Let's Try and Make this Work

Chapter Seven: Let's Try and Make This Work

Harry hated admitting when his father was right; as you got older, time went by faster. The first full week of school had flew by and the second week was nearly over, which meant his father and his "new" mother would be returning home come late Thursday night, giving them a three day weekend to recover from jet lag, among other things, before going back to work. Thank Poseidon, he wasn't sure how much more of his sisters and step-brother he could take alone. Hanging out on the sidewalk or the back porch could only do so much, eventually he had to go inside. Otherwise the neighbours might grow suspicious if there was some teenage boy hanging out on the streets all night.

He hoped that when his father returned home that his new wife wasn't the centre of his attention. He had two weeks for the love struck routine; when he came home, Harry hoped that he'd return to work and fatherly duties and leave his lovey dovey stuff for the bedroom. Before meeting Emma, his father had been known to get drunk on practically any occasion, but once Emma had popped into the picture, his drinking became reserved for special occasions only; it was really the only improvement that he saw in his father. She had eaten up his time and had stolen away his father's attention. If he had to be honest, Harry felt lonely; if he wasn't hanging around with Uma and Gil, than he was at home most of the time. When his father had been single, he'd shared and divided his attention among his three children. But now that there were two extra people in the picture, his father's attention would be spread thin.

There was the niggling fear in the back of his head that he'd be forgotten by his dad. Perhaps it was the "Middle Child Syndrome" he was feeling, but Harry really didn't want to be left out in his family. Before Emma, his family had been far from perfect, but even with her and Henry, it was still far from perfect. He just didn't want to be pushed out of his father's mind or heart simply because of a new woman-wife- in his life.

 _(page break)_

Thursday and Friday were always the two best days of the school week; towards the rear end of the week, it was like people stopped caring, that included the teachers. The cafeteria typically tended to be a zoo, more than usual towards the end of the week. However, it had never really bothered Harry; public schools were always a zoo, no matter how much "control" the principal and teachers tried to put into place.

He sat with Uma and Gil, hidden in a corner of the room where they could be given some privacy. Gil was looking particularly unhappy, as was Uma, but that was nothing new about her. It was strange to see Gil looking down though; normally the golden boy could be described as "walking on sunshine", typically always in a happy go lucky mood.  
"So, did ye make the team," he asked. Gil stared down at his lunch tray, and sighed heavily before nodding once.

"I'm going to quit, but I don't know what I should tell the coach. I feel like he'll whoop my ass if I quit before we can even get started as a team." He pushed away the food tray in front of him, food mostly untouched and growing cold. Harry frowned in discontent; he didn't see any sense in worrying about something like that, but to Gil, it probably was a large problem in his mind.

"Just don't show up," Uma suggested, glancing up from a book she had been reading. She took a long swig from her water bottle. "If you don't show up, I think they'll get the idea that you don't want to play." Harry took note of how Uma was wearing long sleeves today, paired with 3/4 length jeans. He squinted in suspicion, his eyes traveling briefly to the windows. The weather hadn't changed much since the morning; it had grown a bit warmer and the autumn frost had disappeared for now. The sky was clear and as blue as his eyes, he didn't see any reason why Uma should be wearing long sleeves just yet with such pleasant weather conditions still lingering around. He knew that she was more than likely having problems with her mother, or one of her mothers suitors, but Uma was as stubborn as a mule- she'd never in a million years ask for help.

Sooner or later, he'd probably shove his nose into her business. That's typically how his friendship with Uma worked; sticking his nose in other people's business even though it wasn't wanted and then trying to make the best out of the situation at hand.

"You think that'll work?" Gil asked. " Doesn't that look unreliable than? What if the other players come after me?" Harry laughed.  
"And ye say I'm the paranoid one." He rubbed Gil on the back reassuringly. "I don't think they gonna come and hunt ye down. They like you Gilly, I don't think they'd want to hurt ye, even if ye decided to leave the team." It was good to be around his friends, but he really wished that he got to spend more time around them when they were in school; after school hours didn't leave much time and it seemed difficult to coordinate their weekends with one another. Nonetheless, having them around made the empty feeling in his chest disappear. When they were near, he felt complete, without them, he was just a puzzle with many missing pieces.

 _(page break)_

Harriet had decided to take off without Harry that day, so he was stuck walking home. It wasn't that far of a walk, maybe twenty minutes by foot, fifteen if he decided to cut through people's backyards. But he decided to take the long way around, and by the time he arrived, the sun was moving closer to the horizon, preparing itself to go to sleep. As he opened up the front door, he almost had to check and make sure it was the right house.

The aroma that floated to his nostrils was nothing like he had smelled before. When anyone in his family had tried to cook, it usually ending up getting burnt, thrown out or thrown up. But this smell was almost heavenly, he couldn't even place the name of the food by the smell alone. His mood darkened slightly as he took in the sight as he entered the kitchen. Everyone was here already, preparing dinner together, looking perfectly happy.

It shouldn't have bothered him, but it did; it reminded him of the time when he was six and his own sister didn't want him present at her birthday party; he hated being left out, the feeling it gave him made him feel unimportant in other's lives. He, like everyone else, had relevance. He watched from the doorway as his sisters set the table and his father and Emma went about chopping vegetables and stirring some sort of sauce in a pot. What made him mad was how he saw his father giving advice to Henry as they leaned over the stove together, watching the contents of the pot begin to boil.

He strode into the kitchen and made his way towards the table.  
"Thanks for forgetting me," he growled, yanking on his sister's hair, half-teasingly. Harriet kicked at his shin as he made his way around the kitchen table.  
"Not my fault that you wasn't on time," she growled.

"Come on everyone," Emma said. She grabbed the closed dishes off the kitchen island and moved them to the kitchen table. "Let sit and eat." She gave Harriet a side glance, her face giving a silent warning before her eyes moved to Harry. He glared at her as she motioned for him to sit down.

Dinner was quiet, at least on his part. Conversation was still had, but everyone seemed to avoid trying to bring him into the conversation on account of his miserable behaviour. If he fetl left out when he came home, he definitely now felt isolated despite the fact that he was sitting at the same table as the rest of them. He was the first to leave the table and retreat to the back porch, as it had quickly become a habit over the past two weeks.

It was probably about half an hour later that his father stepped out onto the porch. Harry could feel his father's eyes on him, analyzing him; it was something his father liked to do ever since he was young and it still made him uncomfortable to this day. After a moment of silence his father sighed and he took several steps towards Harry, the porch creaking under his feet.

"Harry, I know that you're not happy, but try and make this work." He placed his hands on Harry's shoulders, turning him to face him. "Please, if not for you, for me." The smile on his father's face pulled at his heartstrings. He hadn't seen his dad smile a lot in the past year or so. The last time he saw his father smile genuinely, was at his wedding with Emma. He was happy, and although that should have been enough for Harry, it didn't feel like enough. He only felt more empty on the inside and wasn't sure how he could fix it.

* * *

Gil was not going to back down this time. He had planned on breaking the news to Evie after football practice; he'd been able to tell the coach he wouldn't be returning for future practices. But the small voice inside suggested he break up with her somewhere private, where there wasn't a large audience of jocks and cheerleaders to watch her reaction. So he put it off and invited her over to his place. Inside, his stomach was doing flips and his intestines were tying themselves in knots; he felt bad; he didn't want to hurt her but he didn't want to stay trapped in this relationship. He thought that by letting go of each other, they'd both be able to see other people, perhaps people that made them happy.

Sometimes it was best to do what was best for the self before doing what was best for others.

However, Evie had other ideas; it seemed as though she assumed that he had brought her to his place for more intimate time together. The house was empty, and would be for another hour or so before his father or either of his brothers came home. Before he could so much as ask if she wanted a drink, she was right up against him, her hands wrapped around his shoulders, her hips pressing into his.  
Her lips were everywhere; his neck, his jaw, his cheeks, his lips, his forehead; it felt like she was trying to eat him and couldn't decide on where to start. When she had settled on his neck, Gil thought quickly of what to say to her. Of how to start the beginning of the end.

"Evie, can we talk?"  
"About what," she asked.

"About us." She drew back to look up into his face, looking concerned.  
"What about us?" her voice was low, as though she sensed that whatever he said next would be rather serious and dark. Gil could feel a rising tension in the air between them as he struggled for the right words to say.

"I was thinking that maybe you and I should see other people."  
"Why would I want to do that" she asked. Her index finger traced delicate trails along his jawline. "You're all I need." She pulled him in for another kiss, only to have Gil push her away.  
"I don't like you that way," he said. It came out a lot harsher than he had meant to. The look on Evie's face was at first one of shock than of angry than of sadness, before snapping back to anger and staying there.

"What are you trying to say?"  
"I don't want us to be together anymore." It was lot easier to say than he thought it would have been. The only thing he feared was how she was going to take the news.  
"What, have you found someone better," Evie asked. Her voice was snarky, but Gil could tell by the slight tremor in her lips that she was hiding hurt, and tears.

"No, I just, think that I'm not the best match for you."

"I love you though-" She reached for him, her hands trailing down his arms and clinging to his hands. "Stay with me please. You may not love me now, but we can make it work." She released his hands and she began to tug at the bottom hem of his shirt, her fingers sneaking underneath the material.  
"I don't love you, Evie!" He shoved her away from him, readjusting his shirt so it was straight. Tears were slowly beginning to trickle down her cheeks and Gil felt his stomach clench uncomfortably.

He hated seeing people cry, especially girls. He hated it even more when he was the cause of someone's tears. "Is the only reason you're with me because you want to get in my pants?" The question had slipped out; he hadn't actually meant to voice that thought. Not long after they began dating, Gil had begun to wonder if the only reason she was with him was because of his body. If it was, than he wasn't the only one who felt hurt in this dispute.  
"Well it wasn't for your brains," she snapped. Despite the tears running down her cheeks, the anger was raw in her voice and put a fire in her eyes. "And if I wanted someone with muscle I could have picked anyone on team-you were just easy."

The words hurt. He wasn't sure if she meant them or not; sadness and anger weren't the best mix of emotions. Nonetheless, it hurt to hear that come out of her mouth. Among the hurt he felt, he also felt a small spark of anger; she had no right to be cruel to him like that. He was just trying to do what was best for both of them.  
"Get out," he said, his voice flat. "Please, get out."

Evie glared at him for a moment, her eyes lit with anger, dried tear tracks on her face. She huffed in annoyance before turning on her heel and storming out. The door slammed shut as she ran out, only to be opened again to have his father walk in. Their eyes connected for a moment, and Gil could practically see the wheels turning hin his father's head as he tried to piece together what he had seen on his way in.  
"Why did she leave here crying, Gil," his father finally demanded, all business.

Despite being labeled as a homosexual by his coworkers and complete strangers, Gaston was actually attracted to both genders, and he could be a gentleman to either. That was one of the things that his father had taught him from a young age was to be a gentleman, to both men and women. Gil could understand why his father seemed borderline anger and disappointed that a young girl had left the house, bawling her eyes out.  
"I broke up with her."  
"You didn't lay a hand on her?"

Despite appearances and stereotypes that his father had received over his life, Gil knew that his dad was strongly opposed to the abuse of women, or any person in general, but particularly women. From what Louis had once told him, Gil's mother had been a triplet, and even though they came from a well off family, the three of them weren't treated all that well by their mother. Louis had described Gil's maternal grandmother as someone who was a perfectionist and rather cynical in every sense and very, very opinionated; she had a sharp and harsh tongue when it came to her daughters' appearances and behaviours. Louis had told him that Gaston had always assumed there was more going on between Laurette and her mother than she let on.  
"No sir. I just said I didn't share romantic feelings for her." Gil stated. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, trying to fight off the bad feelings for making Evie cry. "She just didn't take it very well."

HIs father nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer.  
"Alright then."

He sighed quietly, trying to shake off the echo of Evie's words in his head. It shouldn't matter what she said, but people's harsh words always managed to sink their claws easily into his brain and heart. He turned back to his father, who was taking out a cold beer from the fridge, an almost forgotten thought coming to his thoughts.  
"Oh, and I quit football. I was actually thinking about trying out for track and field. Maybe high jump, or discus. Hurdles even, they kind of look like fun."

It was hard to make his dad smile, but Gil could clearly see that Gaston was smiling, even if it was small.  
"I'm happy for you." The words seemed genuine and made the hurt that he felt in his heart diminish slightly.

 _(page break)_

Instead of doing homework, Gil had passed out on his bed, exhausted from his uncomfortably awkward discussion with Evie. He'd avoided dinner and had shut himself inside his room, although there was still the no lock policy, so he wasn't surprised when Bronze barged into the room. He yanked on Gil's ankle to get his attention.

"Gil, some nerd is at the door for you," Bronze said. Gil stifled a groan as he forced himself to his feet. He had forgotten that Doug was coming over tonight. Doug had been helping Gil with his English since freshman year. After finding out he was dyslexic in his late junior high school years, having someone to help him sort the jumbled and floating letters had been a lifesaver to a drowning swimmer. From what the secretary had told him when he went in to sign up for tutoring help, she had said that Doug was one of the best tutors in the school.

Unable to focus on the work that Doug presented him with, Gil's thoughts were wandering around, his head in the clouds. His eyes kept wandering to Doug, an idea steadily appearing in his mind.  
"Hey, Doug, I have a question for you." Gil shut the book he was reading, making sure he had the bespeckled boy's attention before speaking further. "Do you like Evie?"

"Of course I do. Who doesn't like Evie Queene?" Doug exclaimed. He readjusted his glasses on his nose, his eyes averting to the floor as a slow blush began to creep up his neck.

"Yeah, but I mean do you like her in a romantic way? Would you want to go out with her?"  
"But-but you're dating her." Gil shook his head. "Not anymore. I broke up with her. But I think she should have someone special in her life. I think a smart guy like you would work well with her." Doug took off his glasses, grabbing a tissue from his pocket to rub the fog off his lenses.  
"I-I don't think she'll go for a guy like me, Gil."  
"I'm sure she will. She didn't pick me for my brains, but you got looks and brains. I'll help you."

* * *

Jay paced in front of his brother's room, unsure of how to proceed. He really wish that he had brought Carlos with him; he was much better at explaining things than he was. But he had to be the one to let Aziz in on everything, he was Jay's brother after all. With information like this, information that made him nervous, Jay couldn't trust what words would come out of his mouth. He sighed heavily, clenching his hands into fists and releasing them, trying to get the clammy feeling to go away. He took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly before knocking on the door. He opened it up and poked his head inside the room.

"Hey, Aziz, can I talk to you for a minute?" He and Aziz were ten months apart in age, Aziz being the older one, even though Jay looked like several years his senior. Compared to Jay, Aziz's features were much more boy like and he was shorter than Jay by a good head.

"Sure Jay." He closed the textbook he had been reading and put aside, giving Jay his full attention. A silence fell between them as Jay thought of how to bring up the issue without being totally moment of silence lingered for a moment too long. Aziz glanced at him, confused.

"Is everything okay? You said you wanted to talk, but you haven't said anything." He got up from his desk chair and approached Jay, a concerned look on his face. "Are you having problems with your dad?" Jay snapped back to attention at his brother's words; this wasn't about him right now, this was about Aziz at the moment, even though the bigger picture involved both of them.

"I have something to show you."  
He headed over to Aziz's computer and quickly opened up the website Carlos had found as fast as possible. He motioned for Aziz to sit down as they waited for the page to load. Aziz's eyes went big as saucers as he stared at the pictures as they uploaded before him. He scrolled through all of them once, twice, thrice. Jay put his hand onto Aziz's, pulling it away from the mouse. The silence that hung between the two of them was tense and filled with Jay's nervousness.

"What the hell is this Jay," he asked, finally, glancing up at Jay.

"Last year, I got an email from an unknown address. They sent me pictures like this, but of myself." He scrolled up so the screen showed his own. "And I asked Carlos for help and he found out that there were other guys in the school who had their pictures on here." Jay turned Aziz around, grabbing him by the shoulders and looked him squarely in the eyes. "You can't tell mom. And don't tell Aladdin. We don't want any adults knowing yet."

"Why the fuck not, Jay," Aziz demanded, his voice harsh but quiet. Jay dropped his arms to his sides, slightly shocked; Aziz normally never swore. "This is serious. This means there's some fucking pedophile creeping around at the school. The police should know ab-"  
"They will...just not yet. Carlos and I are going to tell the rest of the people that we found on here. Minus you and me, there's five others." Aziz glared at Jay harshly, his lips pursing in displeasure. He sighed heavily, folding his arms across his chest.  
"I don't like it, but fine. But you better go to the police- if there's seven of us on this site already, there could be more soon."

* * *

 **A/N: Hey everyone! I'm back from vacation and back with an update for you all. So, this chapter unlike the others is from three different POVS, and I feel like a lot of future chapters will have this formatting. Otherwise, I think that if one chapter is only one POV, it could be a very, very long time until the story ends, and I personally don't want it to have more than forty chapters if possible. And the (page break) s in the this chapter are just trying to show a short time jump- within a couple hours or so.  
Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed this! If you want, leave a comment/ review or like or whatever; any form of kudos is greatly appreciated. Also, on a side note, this story is cross posted on , but I have added some sentences in this version.**


	8. Chapter 8: Conversations

**Chapter Eight:** Conversations

Carlos was just gearing up to take Dude for a walk when he saw Evie come storming down the sidewalk and up the walkway to her house. She seemed oblivious to the fact that she was being watched, but Carlos became concerned at how distraught she looked. Even from standing on his doorstep, he could tell she was crying, the sound of her sniffles and held in sobs also were a good clue in. "Evie, what's wrong?" He meant well in asking, but he bit his tongue afterwards, wondering if he should involve himself in her situation since, technically, they weren't friends anymore. But that didn't mean that he couldn't still be nice to her. Especially when she was hurting; Carlos hated seeing people cry. Sad individuals tended to radiate an energy that could be picked up on by other people, at least Carlos picked up on it, he didn't know about other people.

She stopped in her tracks, her attention to turn and focus on him. They stared at one another for several moments before Evie came marching over to his porch. She seated herself on the top step and Carlos took a seat next to her so their shoulders rubbed up against one another. Dude rested his head on Evie's feet, his big brown eyes glancing up in sympathy.  
"Gil broke up with me," she said. Despite the steadily drying tears on her face, her voice sounded like she was simmering with anger. Carlos didn't really see the big problem; he'd never really understood why the two of them had started dating to begin with. And from what he had seen with the two of them around school, Gil always looked uncomfortable with Evie. So maybe it was a good thing that Gil decided to part ways; perhaps it was one step closer to having his old friend back.

"I'm sure there's someone else out there for you." he said. "I mean you know the saying 'There's many fish in the sea', apply that to the people you date. Gil was a fish you caught and threw back. So go catch another one." At this, he managed to get a small chuckle from Evie.  
"Thanks, Carlos," she said. She wiped the tears from her eyes, a grateful smile climbing onto her face. She pinched his cheek affectionately. "You're always so nice, Jane's lucky to have you."  
She stood up and dusted off the seat of her skirt, intent on returning to her house.

"Do you ever plan on making things better with Mal," he asked. It was an honest question; he hated seeing how their separation was affecting Mal; she needed her best friend back. And not the cheerleader version of her either-the real Evie.  
"I really want to, but I don't think now's the right time." As Evie returned to her house, leaving Carlos standing on his porch, he wondered what she had meant. Why was now not the right time? When would the right time be?

* * *

Mal couldn't recall the last time the three of them had hung out together at her house in a casual manner. When she thought back on it, the last time Jay and Carlos were at her place was early on in summer break before any of them had started their summer jobs. Most of her summer, when she hadn't been working in the hardware store, was spent wandering around town or at Carlos' or Jay's summer jobs, neither places which she enjoyed to be in too long.

Once all of them were seated comfortably in her room, on various cushions and beanbags, Mal closed the bedroom door and turned her undivided attention to her friends.  
"So, what was it you wanted to tell me?" she asked. "Sounded pretty important when you mentioned it this morning before class."

The explanation wasn't long but Carlos sounded winded by the speed rate that his words came out. There was a small break of silence as the boys gave her time to process the situation. She flicked both of them in their foreheads.  
"Are you two stupid?" she demanded. "Why don't you show the police?"  
"We want everyone who has a picture on here to know about it before we go to the police," Jay said, rubbing his forehead absent mindedly. "How would you feel if the cops suddenly show up at your door asking to question you and you have no idea why," Carlos asked.

"We're giving them a heads up before going to the police." Mal put her hands on her hips and stared at Carlos, her eyebrows raised. She'd known him long enough to know that his words were a partial lie.  
"And you want to play detective, don't you?" Carlos's eyes slowly moved to the floor. He hummed in indecision before sighing and making eye contact with Mal again.  
"Maybe," he said. "But you have to admit that Jay and I would probably do a more thorough job than the police. All you have to do is just inform Ben, that's all."  
"Fine, but what do you expect me to do? Skype Ben and say 'Hi, Ben, guess what I found out this week: you're on a porn site! Pretty sexy, right?'"

"No," Carlos exclaimed. "We just need you to tell him about the pictures and that there are others on the site too. It's meant as a warning, in case the police want to ask him something."  
"He's way over in bloody England," Mal said. "Does it really concern him right now? He doesn't view gay porn."  
"How do you know?" Jay asked, intervening between the two. Their conversation was beginning to take an inappropriate turn, but Mal had brought it onto herself. All she had to do was tell Ben; how hard could that possibly be?

"I'm not having this conversation with you Jay." Mal turned her attention back to Carlos, a tired smile on her face. "Thanks for telling me I guess." She sighed heavily. She wish that she could sway them to go to the police and leave the issue with them instead of trying to solve it themselves; they were just asking for trouble otherwise. But Carlos and Jay could be stubborn when they wanted to be; it took a stubborn mule to know one. "Just be careful you two, especially if you plan on playing Scooby Doo. Okay?"

* * *

Uma had just come up the stairs and was headed towards the bathroom to brush her teeth, intent on retiring to bed soon. As she passed by her room, she nearly jumped out of her skin as she saw someone sliding the window open and crawling inside. She switched on the lights and grabbed the nearest item off her dresser, which happened to be her math textbook. She poised, ready to throw the book at the intruder, until she recognized who it was.

"What the hell, Harry," Uma exclaimed. "What if my mother saw you creeping into my room?"  
"Like she'd care. She's got her own boys creeping into the house, don't she?" Inside her own home, Uma was dressed in sweatpants and a tank top. It revealed her smooth, dark skin, along with a small row of bruises that went up her right arm, all at various stages of healing.  
"Uma, my queen," he sighed. He ran his hands gently over her smooth skin, his fingers lingering on the bruises. "How'd this happen?"

"Forget it Harry," she said, pulling out of his grasp. "It's nothing to worry about." She grabbed a nearby hoodie and shrugged it on, hiding her arms from his sight, suddenly feeling self conscious. The expression on his face read as a cross between annoyed and concerned, but Uma shrugged it off, redirecting the conversation away from her personal problems.  
"Can you tell me why you're here so late at night?"  
"Come over to Gil's with me," Harry asked. It didn't sound like a question to Uma's ear but more of an order. And by the looks of a backpack slung over his shoulders, it seemed as though Harry intended on staying the night.

"Planning a sleepover, are we," she asked, smirking. "Aren't we a bit old for that?"  
"Never, my queen." He grabbed her hand, and lead her toward the window where he had entered.  
"Can't we use the door?"  
Harry laughed, cocking open the window. He looked back at her as he slid himself out onto her roof. "What fun is there in that?"

 _(page break)_

Gil's house was mostly dark, save for the living room light, which had some blue light flickering from whoever was watching television inside. Instead of ringing the doorbell, which worked just fine, Harry knocked on the door. Dressed in pajama bottoms and a baggy T-shirt, his hair down, Gil appeared at the door, confused at seeing them on his doorstep.  
"Mind if we stay the night," Harry asked.  
"Uh...no. But this is really sudden," Gil said. He moved away from the door to let them in. "And late. I don't want you to wake up my dads." The three of them tip-toed down the hall past Gil's fathers' room and his brothers' room to his. Harry had always enjoyed being in Gil's room when he compared it to his or Uma's; there was something unique about it. Perhaps it was because it was light and airy, whereas Harry's and Uma's had a dark nature about it that clearly screamed "troubled youth".

"So, is there a reason why you guys wanted to come to my house?" Gil asked, taking a seat on his bed. He looked half asleep, and Harry wondered if he had been the one watching late night television before going to bed.  
"Sorry if we woke you," Uma asked. She pointed towards Harry. "He was the one that wanted to come over and dragged me along for the ride." Gil glanced at Harry, his eyes narrowing slightly in concentration as he analyzed his friend. He leaned back on his hands, his eyes still on Harry.

"What happened to make you want to leave home for the night?" he asked. Harry couldn't help but smile; Gil always was always so good at picking up on things like that. Perhaps it was because, out of the three of them, he was the best listener, and when it came to Harry and Uma, he listened intently.  
"My Da called me Henry this morning," Harry exclaimed. He knew that it had been an honest accident, but it had ruined his morning and his entire day. His mind kept imagining the many more times to come when his father would make a slip up in his words.  
"It's really bothering you that much?" Uma asked.  
"I am me own person, Uma," Harry said. "It hurt to have me own father say me name wrong." Uma shook her head in exasperation, turning her attention to Gil.

"So, I heard from the grapevine that you broke up with Evie." Uma said, redirecting the attention to someone else. She punched Gil playfully on the shoulder. "Good for you. Going to find someone new for yourself?" Gil exhaled heavily, running a hand through his hair.

"Well, to be honest, I don't even know if I like girls," Gil said. Harry noticed how Uma's facial expression softened into one of sympathy. She slid a little closer to Gil so their shoulders brushed up against one another.  
"Why don't we fix that?" she asked. Harry watched, amused as Uma pulled Gil into for a slow, long kiss. He'd never seen Uma kiss anyone, but damn it was attractive. He shifted in his seat, partially out of awkwardness, partially out of the fact that the scene before him was making him hard.

"Does that help?" she asked. She smiled sweetly which Gil returned, a light blush running up his neck.  
"I guess so..." Gil replied, even though he didn't sound so sure.  
"Kiss Harry," Uma said. "See if you like boys if I didn't do it for you." It wasn't a demand, but a suggestion, one which Harry was readily open to.

"Yeah, kiss me Gilly," Harry said. He opened his arms, beckoning for his friend to sit on his lap. It might have been awkward for Gil, but Harry didn't feel uncomfortable. He'd come to know his sexuality, and among his two best friends, he had no reason to feel uncomfortable in their presence. Hesitantly, Gil sat on his lap and leaned in close. Harry wrapped one hand around the back of Gil's head, pulling him for a deeper kiss.  
When they pulled apart, Harry noticed a shine in Gil's eyes that hadn't been there before; he supposed that he had made a good impression on his friend then.  
"Well," he asked, smiling widely.  
"Your lips are really soft."

* * *

 **A/N: Hey people! I'm back from my vacation, and I'm surprised I haven't lost my inspiration and ideas for this story. But I got new ideas for possible future stories. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Comments/reviews are highly appreciated as is any constructive criticism.**


	9. Chapter 9: Behind Closed Doors

Chapter Nine: Behind Closed Doors

Uma was the first to wake up. The early morning light had begun to creep through the half closed blinds and shine directly in her face. She rolled over onto her back, and allowed her eyes to drift around the room. In the early morning sunshine, the cool Tuscany yellow walls seemed to almost glow, it seemed kind of magical almost. Even though the bed was a queen size, it was still a bit of a tight fit to have all three of them on it. It wasn't uncomfortable though, like being packed in like a can of sardines. It was warm and cozy. Being able to feel the warmth of Harry's skin against hers, his arm wrapped around her, made Uma feel safe. And sadly, although she hated to admit it to herself, Uma hadn't felt truly safe in a long time.

Carefully, she slid Harry's arm off of her and snuck out of the room and down the hall towards the bathroom. She stared at herself for a few moments in the mirror, taking in the exhaustion in her eyes and the healing bruises along her arms. Her fingers slowly traced the healing bruises, her mind drifting back to when she had gotten the bruises in the first place. She splashed some cool water on her face to help wake up and tied her dreads up into a sloppy, low ponytail. As she left the bathroom, she ran into of Gil's brothers in the hallway. They stared at each other for a moment and Uma vaguely wondered if he was the younger or older of the two.

Despite knowing Gil as almost as long as she knew Harry, she had never learned to tell his twin brothers apart. It was only in the way they acted that she could distinguish Garrett from Gavin. Gavin was the nicer of the two, and from what she had seen, the smarter of the two as well.  
"Morning," he said. From the tone of his voice, and lack of expression in his voice, Uma assumed that he was probably still half asleep.  
"Morning," she replied. She slipped past him, not intending to stop and have a conversation. As she came back into the room, Harry was on the floor, rifling through the backpack he had brought with him for a fresh change of clothes. Gil was throwing yesterday's clothes in the hamper and grabbing fresh clothes from his draws. At that moment, Uma wanted to slap herself as she realized that she hadn't brought anything to change into for the following day; Harry had dragged her out of her house so fast.

"Can I borrow some clothes," she asked. "Harry dragged me out so fast I didn't pack a bag."  
"Sure," Gil replied. He opened a couple drawers and threw a couple clothing articles at her. "You can keep 'em if you want." The clothes he tossed to her consisted of a pair of grey boxers, a tan colored T shirt and a pair of jeans that were fraying on the tips of the pant legs.

The boxers were surprisingly comfy; she made a note to buy some for herself later on. The jeans and shirt were baggy but it didn't bother Uma too much She pulled the shirt tight against her skin and tied it into a knot so it rested on her hip. As the three of them continued to get dressed, each of them minding their own business, all of them failed to notice the bedroom door swing open.  
"Whoo, threesome!" an amused voice chuckled. Glad that she was fully dressed, Uma turned to see that one of Gil's brother was standing in the doorway, looking very amused by the scene before him.

"Get out Garrett!" Gil exclaimed. Garrett leaned against the doorframe, smiling mischievously as he watched the three of them scramble around for their things. "  
What? I was told to get you up. I didn't know you had company over!" He laughed. Gil pushed him out of the room and kicked the door closed. He proceeded to take off what passed for pajamas and pulled on his jeans. For some people, it might have been awkward to undress in front of one another, even if they were friends. But for the time she had known these two, she had grown comfortable with them, some might even say too comfortable. She'd seen them naked before when they had gone swimming down in the lake outside of town so it was nothing too new to her, even though they had obviously grown over the years, as had she.

When the three of them came in to the kitchen, breakfast was in full swing. The aroma of cooking meat and toast fresh from the toaster had her practically drooling. The twins were at the table, as was Gaston, who was reading the newspaper, while Louis finished cooking bacon on the stove.  
"Are your friends staying for breakfast," Louis asked, seemingly unbothered by two extra mouths to feed. Uma glanced at the spread that was on the table, and felt her salivary glands activate as she stared at he food. It looked so good, much better than the lousy cereal or dry toast that she had most mornings.

"If you don't mind," Uma said. "I'd like to stay. Everything looks really good."  
Louis smiled and gestured for Uma to take up an empty seat.

Harry snatched a couple pieces of toast off the table.  
"I'd love to stay," he said, "But me Da is having a fit about me disappearing in the middle of the night. So I should go home and assure him I haven't been kidnapped."  
"Why'd you leave home to come here anyway?" one of the twins asked.

"It's crowded, my sisters are more annoying than usual, my step-brother is trying to be friendly. And then my father referred to me by the name of my step-brother."  
"And?" Garrett said, drawing the word out, waiting for a further explanation from Harry.  
"At least you don't have a twin," Gavin said. He took a long swig of orange juice and pointed towards Louis, who has just sat down to eat. "He's been around sixteen years and he still screws up who is who. So your dad got your name wrong, big deal. It doesn't mean he forgot you; keep in mind that he's getting old."  
"I take some offense to that, Gavin," Louis said, sounding slightly offended. "I'm not that old yet."

* * *

Based on location, Carlos decided to call a meeting over at Chad's house since it seemed like the median between school and most of the others' houses. However, he had forgotten to run that idea past Chad himself. Even though Chad's house was close to mansion status, he seemed very reluctant to have any of them enter his house and Carlos couldn't understand why. His own house was fairly sizeable, and if his mother was away for work long enough, he would have thrown a house party; but sadly he didn't know enough people he'd want to party with and could trust not to break anything.

The entire trip over to Chad's house was annoying, since Chad kept demanding why everyone was meeting at his place and not somewhere else.  
"Why my house, Carlos?" he demanded, sounding whiny. "It was your idea, why not your house?"  
"This is easier for everyone Chad," Carlos explained, trying to maintain a calm expression; he could slowly feel a headache coming on. More often than not, Chad was a nuisance, like a mosquito that wouldn't quit or a puppy that harassed you non-stop. Other times he could be an outright jerk, but as Ben had once told him, Chad wasn't that bad of a guy if you got to know him well enough. But Carlos really didn't plan on being buddy-buddy with Chad anytime soon.

Everyone, except for Herkie, had come to meet at the Charming residence by foot. Carlos had only mentioned the problem at hand to Harry and Gil that morning. Aziz had done the courtesy of informing Herkie, which Carlos was grateful for. He hated to be the bearer of bad news, especially when it concerned such personal information. Everyone had just made themselves comfortable at the dining room table, and Carlos was getting ready to call this informal "meeting" to order.

The sooner they got things out of the way, the better he would feel. He didn't want to be discussing this kind of stuff, and he was sure none of the others wanted to be discussing this other, but the situation had to be dealt with sooner or later and they should make a decision about if they were going to go to the police about their problem. However, before he could get any words out of his mouth, the sound of shattering glass came from the kitchen.

The noise startled some of the others, their heads turning towards the source of the noise, alert. Chad was the only one that got up from where he was seating and went into the kitchen. The dining room and kitchen were connected, the kitchen island/bar the only thing separating it into two separate rooms; Carlos was surprised that he hadn't notice the woman in the electric wheelchair enter the kitchen earlier. Despite his eyes being focused on the scene in the kitchen, he was sure he wasn't the only one that staring.

From where he was sitting, he could see Chad on the ground, picking up larger broken pieces of glass, while the woman, who Carlos assumed was his mother, muttered something only Chad could hear. Once the majority of the glass had been picked up, Chad dusted off his hands and headed back into the kitchen, his mother following behind him. She wheeled slowly into the room, Chad lingering close to her side.  
"What a fine group of boys," she said, a small smile on her face. "Why haven't I met any of them before?" Her eyes scanned briefly over everyone in the room before falling back onto her son, waiting for an answer.

"They...they're new friends, mom," Chad said. Carlos could practically see how uncomfortable Chad felt, he wasn't sure if the others could sense it too. Mrs. Charming smiled, her eyes seeming to sparkle in happiness. She glanced towards her son.  
"Sorry for interrupting," she said quietly. With a flick of her wrist on the joystick, she backed her wheelchair up and turned to leave to another part of the house. Once she was down the hall and out of sight, Chad cleared his throat and took his seat at the table.

"I didn't know your mother was...sick." Jay said quietly. The room had grown quiet and Carlos could feel an uncomfortable tension in the room beginning to build.  
"She has ALS," Chad said, flatly, matter-of-factly. For a moment , the room was so silent they could hear a pin drop, their conversation killed by the sudden appearance of Mrs. Charming. "So, can we hurry up this discussion so you can all get your asses out of here quicker?"  
"There's the Chad we know," Jay exclaimed, half jokingly. The rest of the boys leaned back into the table; if the table had been smaller they might have been able to put their heads together to have some sense of secrecy.

"So, I think the main issue is if we're going to the police about this or not." Carlos said.  
"The police want proof," Harry said. "For all they know, and for what they'll likely suspect, is that we put those pictures on there ourselves."  
"Why would they think that," Aziz asked. "What kind of person would willingly expose themselves like that for the world to see?"  
"A bunch of teenagers wanting attention, obviously," Harry said.  
"Chad and Herkie's dads both work in the police force," Carlos said. "I don't think it'd go over well with them in particular if they found out their sons were posting nude pictures of themselves on a porn site."

"I don't think it'd go well if anyone's parents thought that that was true," GIl said.  
"So, all of you got emails from an unknown source..." Carlos said, coming out as more of a question than a statement. If this was true, than that could be useful in proving to the cops that they weren't teenagers seeking attention from whoever would listen. It could be one step closer to finding out who had sent the email; by going to the police, they would have more ability and equipment to find the source IP address of the emails.  
"Was I the only one that opened it," Jay asked. Carlos sense the awkwardness in his voice, as though he was embarrassed.  
"I thought it looked like a scam," Aziz said, "So I just deleted it."  
"Mine went to junk mail," Harry and Gil said in unison.  
"Mine's still in the trash bin," Herkie said, "I thought it was one of the guys pulling a prank or something, but I did see it. Didn't know it was on a porn site though."

"Okay, so, personally, I think we should go to the police." Chad said, breaking the conversation away from where everyone had the suspicious email stored. He eyed Carlos carefully before continuing. "I mean I understand that you might want to keep the issue private, but I think the police are more equipped to handle this type of situation." Carlos couldn't find any reason to argue against that since what Chad said did make perfect, logical sense. Carlos smiled to himself, he'd never thought Chad to be the kind to make any sort of logical sense at all.

Carlos cleared his throat, calling attention back onto himself.  
"Okay, so let's vote. All in favor of going to the police?" There was a moment where no one raised their hand, but first one hand went up than another, and then everyone's was up. Secretly, Carlos was disappointed; so much for getting to play detective.

 _(page break)_

With the meeting adjourned and the vote cast, no one saw any real reason to stay any longer. That and Chad more or less threw them all out onto the sidewalk. Jay and Aziz waited at the end of the driveway for Carlos while Gil and Harry went off together and Herkie strapped on his helmet as he climbed onto the motorcycle parked out front. Before stepping off the porch, Carlos turned back to Chad, who seemed ready to shut the door in his face.

"Hey, Chad, I'm sorry about forcing everyone on you like that. I didn't know that you'd be uncomfortable about having people over."  
"It's not me that's uncomfortable. It's my mom; she doesn't want people to see her like that." Chad sighed. He pinched the bridge of the his nose in annoyance. "Look, thanks for the apology, but next time, ask me first."  
"Well, I guess you never do know what's going on behind closed doors," Jay said. "I just assumed Chad's mom took off or something."

* * *

The sun was saying its final goodnight to the world as it finally sank below the horizon. The orange fire in the sky faded to the beginnings a of navy blue hue. And, if she squinted, she could see some of the stars come to life as the sky continued to darkened. She couldn't recall the last time she had stopped and taken the time to actually watch the sunset; she'd forgotten how beautiful mother nature could be sometimes. Sometimes, she wished she had more time to come out here and sit on the little fort platform and watch the sky; it was so peaceful and felt foreign to her.

Her, Harry and Gil had created the fort when they twelve and had completed it as they were entering their teen years. As they got older, they went out to the fort less and less, but every once and awhile, Uma would still make her way up the small wood steps, hoping the wooden slats of the floor would take her weight. When they had made it, it hadn't be much to behold, but it was beautiful to them. Even now, nearly five years later, Uma still thought the little slum shed had its own touch of charm. There was evidence that other kids had played here, as shown by numerous carvings of hearts and initials and some spray painted graffiti and that some animals had come across the little hut as well.

She nearly jumped out of her skin as she heard the creak and groan of the wooden planks as someone came up the small little stairs and poked their head in, their face shrouded in shadows by the hoodie they wore. She felt her body tense, ready to fight or flee if needed, depending on who it was.  
"Oh, sorry, I didn't know anyone was in here."  
The voice she recognized easily; Mal. Uma smirked and turned her attention back to the sky, which was becoming more pigmented in dark navy by the minute. Mal came to sit on the platform that Uma sat on, careful not to touch her.

"What are you doing in my fort?" Uma demanded, half threateningly.  
"You made this place," Mal asked, sounding surprised. "I always wondered who had put this here. I remember finding it with Evie and Carlos..." Mal's voice trailed off. She turned her eyes to Uma, a small smile climbing onto her face. "It's really cool." Uma smiled in return, feeling proud at the comment. Besides her, Harry and Gil, she hadn't ever heard anyone call their little architect loner anything positive. Even if it was Mal telling her, who she didn't even know that much about, it still felt nice to have someone else than a close friend appreciate her work.

They sat in silence for awhile, watching as the sky faded to the pure darkness of night. Out here, away from the center of town and a lot of the lights, they were able to see the stars sprinkled across the black canvas. Along with the sky turning from navy to black, the temperature had dropped slightly. It hadn't dropped by much she guessed, but it had dropped enough for her to feel cold. She had begun to shiver slightly, her arms covered in goose bumps from the cool night air.

"Hey, Mal, have you ever been to that 50's diner on the outskirts of town. They have good milkshakes. And it's not all that far from here." She wasn't sure why she was asking Mal to come join her for a late night snack, but she supposed that it was because she was delaying going home and getting ready of the lonely feeling she had. After school, Harry and Gil had disappeared on her even though she had gotten a text from Harry about some "meeting" that Carlos had called. She was sure that this meeting wouldn't take all night, but she hadn't heard from either of her friends since five o'clock, so she assumed that they had returned home for the night.

It intrigued Uma, but even if she wasn't personally invited to this meeting, she knew that it didn't take much prying between the two of them to find out what was discussed during this meeting. She thought it was a bit strange that Mal wasn't in this meeting either since she was very close with Carlos, but perhaps it was a "men" meeting and neither of them qualified because they lacked the correct genitalia.

"Sure," Mal said. She pulled herself into a standing position and offered a hand to Uma. Grateful, Uma took it and pulled herself to her feet. It was strange to be spending time with someone other than Harry or Gil, but it couldn't hurt to have another possible friend in her life; especially a gal pal.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, so I had a lot of difficulty writing this chapter, as well as trying to post this chapter; my laptop decided it wanted to update while I was writing and I ended up losing most of what I wrote. I hope there's not too many errors in this, but I have edited this twice because once wasn't good enough. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed; please let me know what you thought of this chapter. It's much appreciated and thank you to those that have already reviewed this story-I love reading all your comments! Hopefully, I will have the next chapter up sooner so there isn't such a big wait gap.**

 **PS: Also, I think in the first chapter I made a note about Gil's brothers' names and I finally gave them here. I, personally think that naming twins the same thing is just very poor choice in character naming, and although the nicknames of Bronze and Junior are a bit better, I wanted to give them actual names, and why not make them start with G too.**


	10. Chapter 10: What Mondays are For

**GiNOTE: **Just some MINOR WARNINGS to everyone; there is a brief, although not very descriptive, mention of masturbation in here. If that bothers you, I apologize in advance but that scene is in there for a reason. Also, there is some child abuse in this, so again, if that bothers you, I apologize.****

* * *

 **Chapter Ten:** **What Mondays are For**

Monday morning rolled around and Carlos felt tense. The entire weekend, he'd been dreading what was to come now that they were involving the police, and it had eaten away hours of his sleep. The lack of sleep and the tightly tied knot of anxiety sitting in the pit of his stomach had put him into a rather foul mood. His thoughts were all over the police and the investigation they were setting up, but there was a niggling little thought in the back of his head that they shouldn't have gone to the cops.  
Even though he knew the police were the good guys and were supposed to help, Carlos still wanted to crack a shot at finding the culprit. Perhaps it was due to his natural curiosity, or maybe because he had watched too many detective shows when he was younger. Either way, he still wanted to get his nose into this business, even though there was the possibility that he could get into trouble himself.

An announcement midway through the day had made the itch to continue his own investigation even stronger. He had been sitting in study hall and the intercom had buzzed to life, the monotone female voice repeating the message twice before clicking off.  
"Attention staff and students. Regarding an issue with several students, the police are here to question regarding suspicious activity seen in around the boys' locker rooms." The announcement had left the entire classroom buzzing with curiosity, and all Carlos could think about is if the police intended to question the entire student body.

If they did plan on that, Carlos marked that as their first mistake; that would take too long; there had to be a better way to narrow it down. Personally, Carlos would have narrowed it down to sports teams, gym classes and the custodians that came through during the day and after hours. It would definitely help shrinking the pool of people to question. Carlos sighed, shoving the thoughts of the situation to he back of his mind; it would have to wait for later when he could get away from class without being missed.

 _(page break)_

Last period, he decided to skip Spanish class for the library, his laptop tucked under his arm. Ever since lunch, the gears in his head had been working over time. He'd come to think that even though the cops were snooping about for more information leading to the perpetrator, the culprit would probably still be sneaking around to take advantage of those changing in the locker rooms. Sooner or later, Carlos thought that another picture might appear on the website; the last one had been taken of Herkie, which was back in June of Carlos' sophomore year. So it was more than likely, the criminal was searching for a new model to take some photos of, even if it was a risk.

Jay had ended up in the library too, although Carlos assumed that his friend had followed him. He had silently sat across from Carlos, who was busying himself with his laptop. Even with the device between the two of them, he could feel Jay staring at him, and it was beginning to make him uncomfortable, but Carlos continued to ignore it.  
"You need to leave it alone, 'Los," Jay said, finally, breaking the tense silence between them. He pushed Carlos' laptop shut and dragged the computer away from him. "We all agreed we'd let the cops deal with it, so just forget about it for now."  
"Forget about it?" Carlos echoed. He glanced around the library, looking for signs that anyone near by was listening in on their conversation. "You were the one that was worried about telling anyone for the longest time. Why are you telling me to just forget about it?" He couldn't help but feel slightly angry towards Jay, but he assumed that the mood he'd been in all day didn't help. Jay was the one that had asked him for his help, and for his best friend to just tell him to forget the issue that Carlos hadn't even brought up was kind of hypocritical.

Carlos stood silently, and pulled his laptop back and tucked it under his arm. He stared at Jay.  
"Remember that you were that asked for my help. So I'm going to help as much as possible. If the cops don't solve this, they're just going to forget about it and you and the others will never know who posted those nude pictures of you online." He turned and left, trying to push the anger he felt rumbling in his chest back into the depths of his mind. Anger was something that he didn't normally feel, and he hated it even more that this feeling of anger was directed towards Jay.

More than anything, Carlos wanted to be helpful; by letting the cops take over the situation he felt like he was letting Jay down, and giving up on his own abilities to solve a problem. He had to see it through. He was going to help his friend, and the others too; it might be a bad decision, but his indecisiveness had lost this round.

* * *

He had been so excited when the head coach of the track and field team had offered him up a position on the team. It had been out of the blue, and early in the morning on a school day, and even though Gil had offered to try out, the coach brushed the offer off, saying how he had already seen Gil run when he had been on the football team. Apparently the coach of the football team and the track coach were friends, and his old coach had mentioned that he didn't want Gil's talent to go to waste. To have his old coach recommend him to another team, even though Gil had quit without any notice, it was beyond nice.

To him, the track team was like a breath of fresh air. The first day he spent as part of the team was the first time in a long time where he had actually enjoyed practice. Even though by the end of the training session he was worn down and covered in sweat, he was happy. Running, even if it was in circles on a track, was much more relaxing than football had ever been. There was also a significantly less chance that he'd get a concussion from running on a track; that suited Gil just fine. He'd suffered a minor concussion in his freshman year and it had left him feeling out of sorts for nearly two weeks; he didn't want to experience another one anytime soon.

He'd been the last off the track since the coach had pulled him aside to discuss practice time and events that the team was involved in. It was no where near as busy as his football schedule had been, which was nice, since it didn't set too much on his place. Perhaps he could focus on bringing up his grades instead of just keeping it at a passing C level to stay on the team.  
With the rest of the team packed up and headed home by now, Gil was left the lone straggler in the locker room. It was kind of eerie, but not an overly disturbing feeling.

Gil stripped down, putting his used clothes back into his gym bag and wrapped a towel around his waist, intent on heading to the showers. He pulled out the clothes he had worn during the school day and zipped up the gym bag. Taking the bag with him, Gil deposited the bag, the towel and the change of clothes on nearby bench just outside the shower room.  
His footsteps echoed on the damp tile floor. It was a bit of a strange, lonely feeling having the entire room to himself, but Gil wasn't used to ever getting much alone time. Even at home, he couldn't be alone; normally his brothers or his father or even Louis would barge into his room several times a night before he went to bed. It was annoying, so the quiet of the locker room and the showers wasn't all that disturbing to him.  
It was actually kind of calming.

He turned the water on and ran his hand under it, testing the temperature. Once it had reached a tolerable level of warmth, he stepped under the jet of water. Gil sighed as the water washed away the sweat on his skin and helped loose any tight muscles. Although he loved water, he couldn't spend all day in the shower. He had to get home and do homework among other things. He also wanted to his friends and family about the spot he had been offered on the track team.

He was excited to tell Uma and Harry, and although they probably didn't care all that much, he knew that they'd be happy for him. Since the night that Harry and Uma had slept over, he'd been thinking a lot about the, more than normal. Over the weekend, the both of them had danced through his dreams and had given him the worst wet dreams in the best way; he couldn't remember the last time he had had a wet dream that had woken him thinking he had wet the bed.  
Kissing his friends had definitely helped him realize who he was attracted to and it seemed that it didn't matter if they were male or female; it mattered more so on who they were as a person and what the relationship he had with them was. These, new awakened feelings had set his nerves on fire. He couldn't really describe it, but just thinking about Harry and Uma made him hard.

He let the water wash over him as he tried to ignore the throbbing in his nether regions. This was not the place or the time to jack off. But the horny little voice in the back of his head encouraged him, begging for release. It was tempting to say the least; he knew that he wouldn't get a chance at home. His dad had walked in on him once and it had been the most embarrassing thing for him; all his dad had told him was to use lotion so he didn't start chaffing.

He imagined running his hands over Harry's bare chest and down the curve of Uma's back. He imagined pulling them close as they lay down on the bed, their bare skin touching and he remembered the soft touch of Uma's delicate hands and the rough, sandpaper like texture of Harry's stubble. Gil moaned, pleased at the pictures his mind was producing, edging him closer to cumming.

He froze as he heard the snapping sound of a camera capturing a picture. Startled, Gil pulled away from the wall, straightening up and pulling his hand away from his member. From the amount of steam that the hot water had produced and the amount of time the shower had been running, it was hard to see the person. All GIl could make out was siloutte at the entrance to the showers.

By the time he had reached the spot where the pervert had been standing, the room was empty once again, except for himself. He cursed silently in his head and grabbed the towel he had placed on the bench, wrapping it around his waist. He just had to go and pleasure himself right there of all places, when he knew full well that there was some creep lurking around taking photos; how could he have been so stupid?  
"Fuck."

The bag he had left on the bench, closed, was now open, and the articles were hanging out of it. Gil shoved everything back in the bag and zipped it up. Whoever had just taken his photo, had also taken his shirt.

* * *

The little diner was practically empty, save for the one lone waitress and the cook in the back. And even though Uma could feel the stare that the waitress was giving them, she intended on staying until closing, or until she got the gol to kick her and Mal out. On their first visit late on Friday night, Uma and Mal had plans to meet again at The Under World. It was nice to have another girl around to talk to. Being around Harry and Gil was just fine, but sometimes the girl problems she'd tell them about seemed to fly over their heads.

Her and Mal seemed to talk for hours, about nothing and everything. But it seemed like both of them wanted to dive deeper into knowing one another better so they had started discussing friends and family. It started with rather simple questions, but build up to questions that required more than a yes or no answer.

"What ever happened to you and to Evie," Uma asked. She plucked the cherry off the pile of whipcream and placed it on a napkin for later; the marschino cherry was always the best part. "I thought you two were like peas in a pod."  
Mal sighed and took a long sip from her glass. "We were. I don't know why she decided to become a cheerleader. I'm thinking her mom had something to do with it, but I didn't think it would change her so much."  
"What did you expect? The cheerleaders are like clones; they all follow conformity. I think Evie just confomred to fit in with them." Mal rested her head in her hand, her thoughts drifting to her distant, or rather, ex-friend. She really wanted to have Evie back in her life, but wasn't sure how to go about. The cheerleaders were like hyenas, they traveled in packs and were ready to rip apart anyone who tried to divide one of their members from the group.

"Well, Gil broke up with her," Uma said, "I'm glad, they didn't really fit well together." Mal nodded in agreement. She hadn't seen Evie and Gil as a couple around the school much, but when she had, Evie looked overly clingy, and it seemed to disturb not only Gil, but Mal as well; she couldn't remember her freind ever being so clingy or needy for a boy toy or significant other. Mal had thought Evie was similar to her-wanting a man but never in need of one. It was kind of sad when she thought about it. She wondered if Evie ever planned on leaving the cheerleaders and rejoin reality, where her actual friends were.

"So you and Ben are a thing," Uma continued, drawing Mal from her thoughts. "How close have you two gotten?" Mal smiled at the mention of Ben. Since he had left for the semester overseas, not many people had bothered to bring him up. Jay, Carlos and even her mother were away that she missed him, but they never asked who she was managing or even how Ben was over in England.

The last time they had Skyped was when Mal had informed him about the nude photo scandal at school, and he had been embarrassed, to say the least, which wasn't what she had expected. But it wasn't like he could do anything about it from over in England; he'd just ask Mal to keep him up to date on the situation, which she assured she would.

"We haven't gone all the way, if that's what you're asking." Mal replied. She nodded towards Uma. "What about you? Are you and Harry a thing?"  
"Me and Harry," Uma repeated, surprised. "You think me and Harry are a thing?" Mal felt heat rising into his cheeks, slightly embarrassed that she had mislabelled the relationship between her and Hook. From the display the two put on in school, Mal assumed that they were a couple, but she could be wrong; Harry was notorious for infiltrating people's personal space bubbles.

"Sorry-"  
"No, I mean sure, I guess I have feelings for Harry, but I also have feelings for Gil. They're kind of like a package deal. So I got two for the price of one." Uma smiled. "Which is fine with me."

* * *

It was nearly ten thirty when Uma walked in the door. Her house was dark, save for the light in the kitchen, which only illuminated directly over the kitchen table anyhow. She pulled off her boots and set her bag down on the hall table. As she entered the kitchen, she realized that she was not the only one awake in the house. A man, with scraggly hair and a rumpled suit sat at the table. A beaten up brief case sat next him in an one of the empty kitchen chairs.

She'd seen this man in her house twice before. Both times he was completely wasted, wreaking of alcohol and stumbling about like an idiot; her mother hadn't been in a much better state. Come morning, he was gone, but the beer bottles that littered the coffee table and the kitchen counter still showed that he and her mother had definitely tried to drink one another under the table. Or perhaps he was trying to add to her mother's "beauty" before he jumped into bed with her.

Unsteady, he got to his feet and sauntered towards Uma, backing her up close to the wall. He shoved her up against the wall, his hands coming to rest on either side of her as barricades. He was slightly taller than her, his mouth level at her eyes. The stench of alcohol was heavy on his breath and his teeth were a ugly shade of yellow. Uma turned her head away so she could breath in something other than his halitosis.

Uma felt one of his knees trying to push apart her legs as he stepped in between her feet as one of his arms moved closer to take grip on her shoulder. Slowly, it slid down to her waist.  
"You smell so good," he slurred. "Much more delicate than what I normally see." Uma grimaced and tried to keep from dry heaving; the stench of his breath was so strong, it was making her stomach begin to do somersaults. Beginning to feel more than uncomfortable, she stomped on his foot, her arms coming up between his and pushing his head back.

The man stumbled away from her, clutching his forehead in pain. He growled in anger and made an advance towards her, his gait unbalanced from the amount of his liquor consumption. She side stepped him and made a move to exit the kitchen but he managed to trip her, sending her to the ground. Uma wiggled to get away from him as he began to linger over her.

Uma kicked back with her free foot and reached for the briefcase that sat in the chair. She managed to wriggle a little closer and knock it down. She grabbed it by the handle and swung it towards her mother's lover, hitting him square in the shoulder. The briefcase snapped open as she hit him a second time, the items flying out of it and scattering the kitchen tile.

"What in sweet Neptune is going on down here?"

Uma and her attacker froze at the screaming of her mother. The man released her foot and got to his feet in a hurry as Ursula stormed into the room, wearing only a nightgown and slippers, her eyes wild with anger. She flipped on the rest of the kitchen lights. She glared at the two of them on the floor and then at the mess they had managed to create by knocking stuff around the kitchen, causing papers on the table and counters to flutter to the floor along with the contents of the briefcase. She glared at Uma angrily, her eyes bloodshot.  
"Clean this up and get out of my sight, you little urchin!"

Uma scrambled around on the floor, gathering the items that had spilt from the briefcase. It was an odd array of objects that she didn't normally expect to be in a brief case, but it was a strange man that carried it, so for him perhaps it was normal. She slammed the briefcase shut, the end of a shirt still hanging out. She shoved the case back at the man, who drew it close to his chest. His eyes followed her out of the kitchen, a malicious smile on his face.

Once she was in her room, Uma locked the door and pushed a small chest in front of it incase her mother or her "friend" decided to come up and harass her. She slumped down onto her bed, exhausted. This was much more than what she had wanted to deal with when she came home. But it was only the beginning of the week; but what were Monday's for other than being the worst day of the week?

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks to all of those that have read this, as well as though that have commented on this story. It is all appreciated. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, even if it may be getting a bit dark and/or raunchy. But what is written is with plot in mind. Feedback is always welcomed, feel free to leave anything constructive. I hope that this is edited decently; it's normally pretty late when I do editing, so sorry if there was any typos.**

 **Also, this is not related to this story, but I do have another idea for a story. It'd be in separate parts, each from a different perspective. I was thinking of titling it "How'd You End Up Here", since it regards how certain characters got to be in a psychiatric institution. It's just an idea, but I was wondering if anyone would want to read that sort of thing.**

 **And, finally, a last note; I now in the last chapter that Chad's mother had ALS; if you are not aware of what that is, it is the same neurodegenerative disease that Steven Hawking had which slowly paralyses the body. Thought I should just mention that since I meant to in the last chapter but didn't.**


	11. Chapter 11: A Shift

***WARNING: Mention of abuse and sexual assault; if this is triggering or disturbing to you please do not read*  
A/N: Sorry for such an extended wait compared to my previous updates. If you could, please read my end notes. And enjoy this chapter!  
**

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven:** A Shift

In the early evening, Carlos was disturbed by Jasper propping open his door and rapping on the doorframe to get his attention. It was unusual to say the slightest, because normally no one, except maybe his mother, came to bother him in his room.  
"Someone at the door for you."

As he headed down the stairs, he expected to see Jay at his doorstep. Or maybe even Evie, but that was a quiet hope in his head. One of the last persons he expected to see at his door was Gil. He paused at the base of the staircase, somewhat surprised, before making his way towards the door, where Gil was standing just on the inside.  
"Uh, hey, Gil."  
"Hey, Carlos. Do you mind if I come in for a bit?"

Carlos glanced over his shoulder back towards the dining room where he could hear the drunken laughter of his mother and her cronies. He was sure that none of them would notice or bother to question him if they saw Gil coming in.  
"Sure, come on in." He led Gil up the stairs back to his room and shut the door, making sure to lock so they were not disturbed. He took as seat on his bed as Gil took a seat at his desk chair.

"So why are you here, exactly?" he asked. The question came out rather awkwardly. He hoped it didn't sound rude; Carlos and Gil weren't close by any means, but they were on friendly terms.  
The story that Gil told him was, well it was interesting and somewhat explicit to say the least. The information that he gave Carlos, about the sighting of the person taking these obscene pictures, along with this creep going as far to steal a used shirt, was even more interesting.  
"That's not all though. I thought that maybe you should know about what happened with Evie and Lonnie today."

He was never really well versed in school gossip, normally he was among the last to hear about the news. So to hear that something had happened to Evie and Lonnie was definitely intriguing.  
"Should I know what happened?"  
"You're not much an extracurricular man, are you Carlos?"  
Carlos chuckled. "No, not even chess club."

"Well, Evie has cheerleading and Lonnie has soccer, and both share the field the same time the track team runs. Anyways, I over heard some of the other cheerleaders talking after practice and apparently Evie and Lonnie saw some guy wandering around the girls locker room when they were changing. Lonnie said that he was carrying a camera."  
"Are you sure it's the same person you saw in the locker room?" he asked.  
Gil nodded. "Pretty sure," he replied. He rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes downcast. "I mean, how many creeps can there be in the same school, in the same town? Auradon isn't that big."

Carlos had to admit that Gil did have a point. But it still didn't make any sense to him as why this man- at least Carlos assumed it was a man-would suddenly switch to harassing girls when he had originally been harassing boys.  
"I see your point. But...why start targeting girls now?" There was a small silence between the two of them as they each thought of reasons to explain this strange shift of events.

"Well, I don't know if porn sites do this, but sometimes when people submit photos, they get paid for the quality. This person could be doing it for money. Or...maybe he's just going after what's-who's- easiest. The more exposed the better in this case." Again, Carlos had to admit that Gil had a point. And he could understand why someone would do things for money, or go after the easiest pray. But the thought of the culprit took a backseat to the thought of whether he should turn this information over the police or not.

Because he was still itching to get his nose into the police's business. He wanted to know if they were anywhere close in having a suspect, or if they were going to give up with a week or so. There was no homicide or suicide involved in the case, so Carlos assumed that it took the back burner, and if they couldn't find a suspect soon, or if any suspect they found fell through the cracks, then the case would be forgotten. And Carlos really didn't want that this left unsolved, it would drive him crazy.

* * *

Uma had begun to feel the hairs on the back of her neck raise whenever she came, sensing that something was not right. The man she had encountered on Sunday evenings had been showing up at the house for the past two days and it was beginning to make Uma paranoid. She wasn't sure what to think of this man, other than the fact that he was a drunk, and he didn't seem to shower regularly. She honestly didn't know what her mother saw in him, or why Ursula kept allowing the man back inside. And for the past two days, whenever Uma came home, there he was, seated in the kitchen as though he was waiting for her personally. The smile that he gave her unsettled her all the more. His teeth were crooked and yellow, and Uma noticed the way he licked his bottom lip when she walked by; it was predatory and every time it sent a chill up her spine. She was sure that sooner or later, he'd try something with her, but Uma couldn't be sure what.

The surprise came three days later, at the end of the week, about an hour after Uma had retired to bed. She was just on the cusp of asleep and awake, so at first, she was sure that what she felt had been the beginnings of a hypnogogic dream. But when she rolled over and found the face of that man staring down at her, her eyes flew open wide, as her brain jumped into alertness as her heart jumped into her throat.  
"What the fuck?" she muttered, her words muffled by the hand that was clapped over her mouth. She ripped his hand away from her mouth and threw the covers off of her and slid as far away from the man as possible.

He followed her every move, and moved to stand in front of her. Uma stood and pushed him a step back, trying to gain back some sense of a space bubble. He was still uncomfortably close, and his hands rested on her shoulders and started to roam freely over her body, taking advantage as Uma tried to decide how she should take action. He pushed Uma back onto the bed, forcing her to lay down as he moved to slide over her. His hands interlocked with hers and that stupid yellow grin crawled onto his face. All the while, Uma was internally screaming at herself to do something!

"I really tried to resist," he whispered huskily. "But you are ... much more delicate and pretty to look at than the boys." His lips dusted lightly over her skin before he licked her from neck to ear. Uma shivered, partially in disgust, partially out of fear. She struggled to get her thoughts in order, as many thought trains rushed about, all of them offering her positions on what do about the frightening situation at hand.

Fighting the shock that her brain was in, Uma kneed the man in the groin and used her knees to push him off of her onto the floor. She was on her feet first, and she kicked him in the head for good measure to keep him down longer. She stepped over his body and stumbled her way blindly through the dark towards her door. The only light was from the starlight sky, which was saying, there was next to no light at all. Before she could make it through the threshold of the door, a hand wrapped tightly around her ankle, pulling her to the floor.

Uma grabbed whatever was closest, which happened to be a combat boot and whacked him across the face as hard as she possibly could. She rolled him off of her and got to her feet. He was quick to get to his feet and he ran out her, pinning her to the struggled back and forth for a bit as they each fought to gain power of the situation. She managed to get him into a position where she was able to push him straight out of her room and into the hall. But as she went to slam the door, he jammed his foot in the door and tried to shove his way back in.

"Come on Uma, " he chuckled. "I'll be gentle." He gripped onto the door and tried to force it open. Even though Uma was relatively strong for someone who had such a small stature, she was still no match for this guy. He had a good eighty pounds on her, maybe more. He came barging back into the room, and Uma stumbled back at the sheer force of the door flying back open.

Before she could move out of the way, he was upon her like a lion on it's prey. He grabbed at her hands and pushed her back, forcing her onto the bed. He climbed onto the bed, his knees coming to rest near her ribcage as he sat on her thighs to keep her still. He pulled her wrists together and gripped them with one hand and brought it up above her head.

His free hand roamed lower and lower, while the grip that held her wrists become tighter and tighter. All the other times she had run into this man, he had stunk of alcohol and had been a clumsy buffoon. But tonight, she couldn't smell liquor on him at all, and she thought that that was what made him stronger. And despite her mouth being free, Uma knew that screaming for help would not do her any good. The only other person home was her mother; and she knew that her mother wouldn't give a damn.

* * *

Since disappearing that one night to sleep over at Gil's, Harry's father had been rather strict about him leaving the house without his knowing and permission. He was sure that Emma had been the one to encourage his father to place such restrictions since Harry knew that his father wouldn't have had placed said restrictions had he still been single. Along with being restricted to the home, his father had taken his phone away after school hours, which left him unable to contact any of his friends.

So instead of keeping to himself in his room, and the lack of personal electronic items left him trapped in the living room, where his sisters were fighting over the television remote. Henry was reading a book, in Harry's favorite spot of course, while his father and Emma had barricaded themselves in the master bedroom for "alone" time. It was bothersome to know that his father and his new wife were locked away in their bedroom, getting more intimate by the minute. And yet, despite being back nearly a week from his honeymoon, Harry felt like his father was ignoring not only him, but also CJ and Harriet. He knew that love changed a person, and that the first few weeks were spent in a tunnel of just the two, but Emma and his father had been dating for nearly two years before they decided to put a ring on it.

All four of their heads perked up as the sound of the doorbell echoed throughout the house. Harriet slapped him on the arm. "Get the door," she demanded, waving her hand in direction of the foyer. Harry groaned in annoyance but got his feet. He stepped over CJ, who was sprawled out on the floor, and made his way to the front door.  
Through the frosted glass he could see a lone figure standing outside on the porch, shifting from foot to foot. As he opened the door, the woman on the doorstep struck a memory chord deep within his mind. Her hair was beginning to gray at the roots but her hair was chestnut in color, similar to CJ's. Her smile seemed the most familiar, it was friendly in nature, but lacked warmth from the sadness that lingered in her eyes. She looked at him from head to toe, her smile becoming warmer at seeing him.

"Oh, Harry, you look so much like your father." She embraced him tightly, as though they had known each other for ever. Normally, he was the one to invade people's space bubbles without permission. And even though he thought that hugging this stranger should be awkward, it felt reassuring.  
"Can I come in," she asked. She sounded so casual, as though she visited the house often, but Harry was still having difficulty placing this person in his head. There was only one person that came to thought as he tried to identify the woman standing before him. And although a small voice in his head was shouting that his senses were deceiving him, a louder voice was cheering, confirming that it was who he thought it was. His hand dropped off the door handle as awe and shock began to take over all his thoughts; this simply couldn't be true. Why would she have come back after all these years?  
"Mum?"

* * *

 **A/N: Oh my gosh! I was so stumped when writing this chapter! I rewrote this at least three times. I realized that a change was necessary in this, although it was a rather dark change. You can probably guess who's POV that was. I'm hoping to have the next chapter out sooner than this one was. But I do have another story idea in mind for the Descendants, and I would like some feedback on the idea, so PM me if you want to hear more about it.  
And thanks for reading as always! Comments are always welcome, as is any constructive criticism. It is always much appreciated! Hope you enjoyed!**


	12. Chapter 12: Setting a Trap

**Chapter Text**

Chapter Twelve: Setting a Trap

"Who's at the door Harry," Harriet called. Harry remained silent, although his jaw worked as he tried to form words, but his brain seemed unable to process thought into words. From the other room, he heard Harriet sigh impatiently and her soft footsteps on the carpet as she headed towards the foyer.  
"I asked you who's at the-" Harriet's words dragged off into a stunned silence. She stared at the their mother, who stood quietly inside the foyer, smiling politely.

"Who's she," CJ asked, curious as she poked her head into the front entrance way. In his peripheral, Harry noticed that even Henry had drawn his attention away from his own activity, becoming interested at the additional person in the room.  
Although CJ had been a bit too young to fully remember their mother and Harry just barely remembered her, Harriet had had the best memory of her. The look of surprise on her face was subtle; Harry would have missed it altogether had he not noticed her eyebrows raising as her eyes got as big as saucers.

"Mum," Harry muttered. It was a word that sounded foreign on his lips. "She's our mum." CJ glanced between Harry and their mother, her curious look turning into shock and awe.  
"I'm getting dad," Harriet muttered, before taking off down the hall to the master bedroom. Harry briefly wondered how awkward this situation was going to get, and how fast it would take for things to turn south and head to hell.

Harriet stormed back into the room with their father and Emma in tow, both of them looking equally confused. Upon laying eyes on his mother, Harry's father froze, his jaw dropping open in surprise.  
"Mary." The room was deathly silent. The two of them looked at each other for what seemed like ages. Harry could see tears glistening in his mother's eyes; tears of happiness he assumed. Their mother smiled, her eyes wrinkling around the corner. She took several steps forward as though she wanted to hug their father, but she stopped short after catching Emma's eye.

"It's so good to see you again, James." Their father nodded uncertainly and recomposed his face into a stoic expression.  
"It's been awhile." Harry refrained from scoffing. It had been more than awhile. Ten years was much more than "a little while".

"It's been a decade," he said, his voice laced with venom. He didn't really care that he was barging into a conversation that should be private, that should be strictly between his parents. But it seemed like everyone was either too stunned or too stupid to move. "And all you have to say to her is 'it's been awhile'? What's wrong with you? She's our mother, our blood, you should want to take her back..."

"Your mother is sick, Harry," James exclaimed, trying to maintain a calm voice, "She's bipolar. When she was pregnant with Harriet she stopped her medication and never went back on it. The illness makes her irrational and act impulsively: that's why she left."  
"I came back-"  
"No, Mary," his father exclaimed, holding a hand up to silence her. "It doesn't matter that you came back. You've been gone for nearly ten years. You left me, you left your children. We are divorced, you signed the papers I sent when you were living overseas."  
"You had contact with her," both Harriet and Harry exclaimed, clearly surprised. Harry would have loved to hear from his mother, even though she was not physically, or emotionally, present in his life. But knowing now, that his father had kept his contact with their mother a secret, made him angry. He should have a right to see his mother, whether his father wanted the woman in his life or not.

"Mary, I suggest you leave," his father instructed. He took several steps towards his former partner, ushering her towards the door. After all these years of being absent from his life, and suddenly reappearing, his father was just going to turn her away like that? What if she had nowhere to go?

"You can't just throw her out-" Harry exclaimed.  
"I can do whatever I please in my house," his father yelled, his calm façade finally breaking. The look in his eyes was deadly, but Harry could also see a pain that went deep. He wasn't sure if that was personal pain, or a pain directed towards Harry at having to force his biological mother out the door.

"Harry-"  
"I don't want to hear it!" He barged past his father and Emma, who lingered in the entryway to the kitchen, and grabbed his phone off the counter before heading out the back door. Winter was rounding the corner and frost had begun to appear during the night. Without a coat, he was slightly chilled, but with the anger that was coursing through his veins, the coolness was welcomed on his heated skin.

He glared at the screen on his phone, surprised at the sight of so many messages and missed calls. His anger fizzled out and turned into worry as he read through the messages and listened to the voicemails.

* * *

Mal had not expected to have Uma show up at her back door in the middle of the night. She was glad her mother slept like the dead, otherwise, both her and the turquoise-haired girl would have suffered a strict lecture from Mal's mother. And even in the dead of night, Maleficent was not someone to be bothered with. Still half asleep, Mal hadn't noticed how quiet the other girl was, and how she hunched in on herself and her walk was more of a shuffle, as though she was in some sort of pain.

They tiptoed up the stairs, past Mal's mother's room, and down the hall to hers. When they had reached Mal's room and when the door had been closed, Mal had barely turned around before she felt Uma's arms around her. She brushed off her momentary shock and forced herself to speak.

"What happened?" she asked. "Are you okay?" Uma shook her head and wiped at the tears that trickled slowly down her face. She sniffed and choked back another sob. She paced back and forth in front of Mal several times before she opted to take a seat on Mal's bed. She curled one leg under her as her hands clenched at the edge of the mattress, her knuckles turning white from how tight she was clinging.

"What happened, Uma," she asked again. She sat down next to her and placed a hand on hers as Uma tried to express herself. Her mouth opened and closed several times before she sighed shakily.  
"I-I-he...he-" the rest of her words were lost to tears as Uma started to sob. Mal drew back for a moment, shocked. She had always assumed Uma to be a very tough girl, but seeing her cry made Mal realize that she was just as human as any other teen girl out there. She wrapped an arm around the girl and just listened and waited as Uma continued to cry her heart out. When her sobs had died down to quiet tears and sniffles, Mal removed her arm from around the Uma's shoulders and silently waited to see what Uma wanted to do or say next.

"Can you call Harry and Gil for me," she muttered quietly, her eyes directed at the floor. "I left my phone at home before. I was kind of...in a hurry." She gave Mal two numbers that she had memorized by heart, which surprised Mal since even she hadn't memorized her closest friends numbers. The only number she had truly committed to memory was Ben's; she made a mental note to memorize Carlos and Jay's numbers in her free time.

She tried Harry's cell four times before giving up as it kept going to voicemail. She asked Uma for Gil's number and was relieved when he picked up on the second ring. She gave him directions to her place and told him to come because Uma needed someone. Even though Mal could guess at what happened to Uma, she wasn't about to flat out ask and have her relive the moment she had tried to escape by coming to Mal's in the first place. And although she could sympathize with Uma, even Mal thought that she'd feel more comfortable if it were Gil and Harry that were there for her. Even though the two of them had managed to strike up a friendship, they knew her best.

* * *

He had been half asleep when the vibration of his phone on the bedside table had jolted him from his semi-slumber. He didn't recognize the number but answered it anyway. Call him stupid, but Gil enjoyed the rare moments when he got phone calls, even if they were from telemarketers or scammers trying to get money out of the naïve and gullible.  
"Gil? It's Mal."  
"Uh...hi? Why are you calling me?" He wasn't even aware that Mal had his number.  
"It's Uma. She needs someone right now. I mean, she's going to stay with me, but she wants you and Harry."

"What happened?" he asked. There was a long, drawn-out moment of silence. He heard Mal huff in frustration before she sighed, sounding resigned.  
"I think...I think she was assaulted." Gil felt a cold knot solidify in the pit of his stomach at Mal's words. Uma, assaulted? He swallowed past a lump in his throat and cleared away the dark images that swarmed his mind.  
"Give me directions. I'll be over as soon as I can."

After he had received the location from Mal and some easy to follow directions, he snuck out the backdoor and took off on his bike. He pedaled as fast as he could, intent on seeing Uma. There was a part of him that wanted to see how bad she had been hurt, but the weaker side of him felt sick to his stomach at the mere sight of broken bone and blood. As Mal's house came into sight, he headed round back to where he could see the back door illuminated by a warm porch light.

Mal opened up the door as he stepped onto the porch and guided him upstairs to her room. Uma was seated on her bed, leaning against the headboard, a pillow clutched to her chest. Upon catching sight of him, she cast the pillow aside and leaped off the bed, wrapping him a tight hug. He wrapped his arms gently around Uma, holding her close to him. She nuzzled into his chest as her arms wrapped around her neck.  
"Thank you for coming," she muttered. She kissed his cheek. "I appreciate it." Gil nodded mutely; he could feel a slight blush running up his neck from the peck on his cheek.

"Where's Harry?" she whispered quietly. Gil glanced over at Mal, silently asking the same question as Uma.  
"He's not answering his calls," she stated. Gil frowned in response; it was very unlike Harry to not answer his phone, whether it were text or phone call. Harry practically worshipped the ground that Uma walked on, so it was strange that he wouldn't have gotten into contact had he been aware of what had happened to Uma. For the time being though, Gil would have to be enough for her; he hoped that he could provide the same amount of comfort that two people could.

He heard Uma's breath hitch, as though she might start crying.  
"I'm sure he'll show up soon, Uma." He rubbed circles gently on her back. He hoped that he was comforting in the correct way; his family was never one for physical affection, unless a punch in the arm or a rough slap on the back counted. In this situation though, he was pretty sure that either of those would be highly inappropriate. "It's Harry. You know he wouldn't leave you out to dry."

Uma hummed in agreement. Her hands gripped at the fabric of his shirt and she moved so her face was pressed against his chest. She sniffed and sighed heavily, and Gil could tell that she probably fighting off another onslaught of tears.

They remained intertwined in their embrace for nearly five minutes. Gil didn't try to pull out of the hug. He wanted to say something to her, but knowing himself, he would probably screw up what he had to say. And if what Mal said was true, and that Uma had been assaulted by someone, he really didn't want to trigger anything that would cause her to break down. He hated seeing women cry, it pulled at all the wrong heartstrings.

Finally, she released him from her hug and pulled back a bit.  
"Can you come with me? Back to my house? I want to get some things since I'll be staying here for a bit."

* * *

From the outside, Uma's house looked silent, and she assumed it was. Her mother, with the odd hours she kept, would hopefully stay gone until the early morning hours. So hopefully luck would stay on their side. To be on the safe side, Uma led them around to the side door and poked her head inside. There was no movement or sign that anyone was in the house at that moment.

She ushered them through the door and headed towards the stairs.  
"I'll be quick. Stay here and keep an eye outside to make sure my mom doesn't pull up." She had just reached the foot of the staircase when Gil got her attention. He pointed to something on the floor. In the near pitch darkness, it was hard to make out what he was pointing at, but after squinting at it for a moment Uma recognized the object. It was _his_ briefcase.

"Is this yours," he asked, nudging the open briefcase with his foot. Uma gave a disgusted look at the briefcase.  
"No, it's not. Why would I have a briefcase, Gil?"  
She raced upstairs to her room before he could say anything else. The longer she stayed in this place, the more her skin crawled uncomfortably. Uma grabbed a duffel bag that had been hidden under her bed and grabbed clothes from her drawers and closet it at random. The memories she got of her previous moments in her bedroom gave her a bitter taste in her mouth and for a moment she thought she might vomit. Once the bag was full, she headed to the washroom and collected her toothbrush and other essential toiletries.

When she came back downstairs, Gil was still standing in the kitchen, still eyeing the man's briefcase which sat on the table, slightly propped open.  
"Gil," she snapped, eager to leave, "What are you gawking at, let's go already."  
He glanced at her, uncertainty clear on his face. He looked back to the briefcase and then back to her. She could see his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed heavily.

"Uma..." he started hesitantly, "That man...the one who attacked you...I think he might be responsible for all those nude photos being taken and posted online." Uma felt her blood run cold at his words. Could that possibly be true? That this man who had been tormenting her life, who had violated her, had also been meddling in others. What kind of sicko was her mother sheltering?

"This is my shirt," he said and he grabbed at the fabric that had been hastily shoved inside the case, "And it was inside the briefcase with all this...other stuff. There's also film refills for one of those old Polaroid cameras." Uma took her hand off the doorknob and came to stand next to Gil so she could get a better look at the contents of the case.

She glanced quickly at the contents of the briefcase, hating how it made her stomach roll unpleasantly. At what she assumed to be work papers at first glance, she could now see that they were notes, detailed notes about the bodies he'd been peeping on. And not just notes, but fantasies, written wishes; she nearly gagged. There were even some polaroid photos scattered amongst the papers. But there was no camera.

She snapped a quick photo of the fantasy list that the creep had written out and sent a message to Mal. She hoped that the information could be useful. She lifted the bag onto her shoulder and slipped her phone back into her jean pocket and grabbed Gil's hand and pulled him towards the front door. She didn't have the patience or the attention span to worry about this anymore right now. She just wanted to leave so the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach would ebb away and her skin would stop trying to crawl off her body.

* * *

When she received a text message from Uma, she was worried. Upon reading it though, Mal relaxed a little. All it read was; _"Gil and I found something interesting. To add to our case on the creep with the photos. Sending you a pic._ " When Mal got a glance at the picture that Uma sent from her phone, she blinked several times just to make sure she had read things correctly.  
She had decided to get Carlos and Jay over at her place. From the text, it seemed like something all of them should be in on. She waited out on the back porch, anxiously pacing back and forth. She froze and turned her attention to towards the direction to the gate as she heard the latch lift, followed by several sets of footsteps.

Carlos and Jay rounded the corner of the house, both of them looking slightly irritated. Mal held the door open for them and slid a doorstop into place for the time being. Carlos entered the house without any words, his lips pulled into a thin line. Jay stopped at the door and looked a Mal, his face apologetic.

"I'm sorry Mal, he followed us."  
Mal's brow furrowed, confused. "Who-"  
But before she could finish asking her question, she heard another pair of footsteps rounding the corner to her house. They sounded like they were close to a jog. In the dark, it was hard to tell who it was at first, but as the person stepped into the warm glow of the porch light, Mal had to refrain from groaning.

"Where is she?" Harry shouted. Mal winced at how loud he was in the quiet of the night. Jay glared at him and shushed him, hissed something in a near whisper about being quiet before he entered Mal's house to head to her room.  
"Harry, shut up!" Mal hissed. "You are going to wake up my mother!"  
"Where is she, Mal?" he growled. He sounded irritated, more than usual. "I get me phone back and have four missed calls from you. Why? You don't even have my number. And then I see Gilly's been texting me on and on about Uma being at your place. Why?"  
As he continued to talk, his voice had continued to rise in octaves until he was back to yelling again. Mal clapped a hand over his mouth.  
"Shut up, Hook. Uma's with Gil. They'll be back soon. If you want to come inside, you have to use your inside voice."

Harry licked her palm, which had Mal grimacing in disgust as she pulled her hand away and wiped it on her pants.  
"Fine. I'll try to be quiet as possible," he muttered. He slid past her to the porch door which was propped open by a dragon-shaped doorstop. "But I can't make any promises." Mal scowled at him as she reentered the house and pulled the door shut and set the locks back into place. She pointed Harry toward the stairs and the two of them tiptoed their way up the stairs.

"How did you even find out where I live?" Mal whispered as they neared her room.  
"I followed yer mates down here. I know where Evie lives because of Gil, and she lives next to Carlos and saw 'im sneaking out the house. So I followed them. I know Uma and ye have hung out a few times. Makes sense you'd know where she'd be."

* * *

It was about another twenty minutes before Uma and Gil snuck back into her house. Uma placed her bag in the corner of Mal's room, out of the way and before she could do much more than take a few steps further into the room, Harry engulfed her in a hug. Mal felt her heart twinge in jealousy as she saw the way Harry embraced Uma; it reminded her too much of Ben. The way his hand tangled in her hair, the way she fit into the crook of his neck perfectly, like a missing puzzle piece.

She looked away from their reunion and turned to assess the number of people in her room. Carlos and Jay had taken up her bed. Uma had opted for her desk chair while Harry and Gil had situated themselves on the floor against the footboard of her bed. With five other people in her room, Mal couldn't help but feel slightly claustrophobic. The brief thought of how much trouble she would be in crossed her mind if her mother found out about all the people in her room at such an ungodly hour. And she didn't want to think about how most of this ungodly company at this ungodly hour were males; her mother would have a cow.

"So, do you want to explain the information that you and Gil found?" Uma nodded slowly and pulled out her phone.  
"When we were in my house, we found this briefcase with all these strange papers." she glanced over at Gil knowingly, her lips upturning at the corner. "It was actually Gil that spotted it." She pulled up the pictures she had taken and passed the phone around to everyone. Everyone's eyebrows raised in surprise as they laid eyes on the pictures.

Uma continued to explain. "We're thinking that the guy that...that uh, is staying with my mother could be the same pervert that's creeping on you guys in the locker room."  
"I found my gym shirt in the guy's briefcase." Gil said. "It went missing when I was taking a shower in the locker room."

"I can search several databases for the guy," Carlos said, sounding slightly excited Do you know his name?"  
"Only by his last name," Uma replied, sounding timid. "Is that good enough?"  
Carlos hummed thoughtfully. "It depends on how common the last name is. If it's fairly common, it'll be a lot harder to narrow down. But I'm sure I can do it." He clicked around on his computer and typed something in at a lightning quick pace. Mal heard Jay inhale heavily as he caught sight of something on Carlos' computer. He glanced up at Uma and smiled slightly.  
"Okay, hit me. What's the guy's name?"

Uma swallowed. She tugged on her shirt sleeve uncomfortably. "Mr. Gold." Carlos typed it in and waited impatiently as the new screen popped up. He turned the laptop around to face Uma.  
"Is that the guy?" he asked. Uma' s eyes went wide as she stared at the mug shot of a man that had been in her waking nightmares.  
A silence fell over the room. Mal exchanged a knowing look with Jay. Harry shook his head as Gil whispered something into his ear.  
"Should we know who that is?" Gil asked.

"He's one of the custodians at the high school. At least, part-time I think." Jay said. "I've seen him around the school and at the town library, but I never knew his name."

"When can I punch 'im?" Harry asked. His hands clenched into fists as he rested them on his knees, eager to hear more about what they were going to do about this creep.  
"Slow your horses, Hook," Jay exclaimed. "We can't just jump the guy when he's not expecting anything."  
"I'm thinking we can lure him in," Mal said, butting into the conversation. "Uma took a picture of some of those "notes" that he had written down...There are some scenarios he hoped that he would happen to see..." She passed Uma's phone around to everyone to take a glimpse at all the strange notes that the man had written.

"What a slimy git," Harry muttered. He folded his arms over his chest. He glanced at Mal, an eyebrow quirked up in question. "I suppose you want us to lure him in by putting these fantasies into reality." Mal nodded. Despite being an annoying thorn in her side, Harry was quick to catch onto some things.

"Technically yes."  
"Whoa, whoa," Jay protested. "I get we want to catch the rat but I'm not doing anything with any of you guys."  
"You wouldn't actually have to do it, Jay," Mal exclaimed, "Not unless you wanted to, besides, there are others to pick from. You would just need to act and make it look good. And if it draws the creep in, we'll have some of you guys set up to wrangle his ass in."

Carlos raised his hand to draw Mal's attention. "What do we do if-when we catch him? The police are the ones that are supposed to catch him...I mean, we got visual proof of what he's done, but we'll still need proof that connects him to being the pervert, otherwise, they might just think we're placing blame on him or trying to draw attention. How do we do that?"

"Harry, how good are you at threats?


End file.
